Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 90

Devanagari script

स्थूलग्रीवा च विधवा वक्रग्रीवा च किंकरी । वंध्या द्विचिपिटग्रीवा ह्रस्वग्रीवा च निःसुता

Transliteration

sthūlagrīvā ca vidhavā vakragrīvā ca kiṃkarī | vaṃdhyā dvicipiṭagrīvā hrasvagrīvā ca niḥsutā

Translation

A thick-necked woman is said to become a widow; a crooked-necked woman, a servant. One with a neck that is doubly flat is said to be barren; and one with a short neck is said to be without children.

Word by Word

• sthūlagrīvā: thick-necked
• sthūlagrīvā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthūla (प्रातिपदिक) + grīvā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारय (sthūlā grīvā yasyāḥ)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• vidhavā: widowed
• vidhavā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vidhavā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vakragrīvā: crooked-necked
• vakragrīvā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vakra (प्रातिपदिक) + grīvā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारय

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• kiṃkarī: maidservant; female attendant
• kiṃkarī: Viśeṣya (head noun implied/understood)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kiṃkarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vaṃdhyā: barren
• vaṃdhyā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vandhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• dvicipiṭagrīvā: two-depressed-necked
• dvicipiṭagrīvā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक) + cipiṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + grīvā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (dvi-cipiṭā grīvā yasyāḥ = ‘having a neck with two flat/depressed parts’)

• hrasvagrīvā: short-necked
• hrasvagrīvā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hrasva (प्रातिपदिक) + grīvā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारय

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• niḥsutā: without offspring
• niḥsutā: Viśeṣaṇa
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nis/niḥ (उपसर्ग) + sutā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sober teaching scene: the teacher lists outcomes (widowhood/servitude/childlessness) as cautionary categories; listeners appear thoughtful, emphasizing ethical restraint rather than sensationalism.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It reflects a conventional omen-system linking form and fate, implicitly advising careful discernment and dharmic steadiness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The context is the Kāśī Khaṇḍa, centered on Kāśī’s sanctity; this verse is not a site-praise passage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.