Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 57

Devanagari script

जामयो यानि गेहानि शपंत्यप्रतिपूजिताः । कृत्याभिर्निहतानीव नश्येयुस्तान्यसंशयम्

Transliteration

jāmayo yāni gehāni śapaṃtyapratipūjitāḥ | kṛtyābhirnihatānīva naśyeyustānyasaṃśayam

Translation

The houses that sisters-in-law or women related by marriage curse, because they are not duly honored—those houses will surely perish, as though struck down by malignant rites.

Word by Word

• जामयः: women (female relatives/sisters-in-law)
• जामयः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जामि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्ता

• यानि: which
• यानि: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध-प्रत्यय (relative pronoun)

• गेहानि: houses
• गेहानि: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्म

• शपन्ति: curse
• शपन्ति: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √शप् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• अप्रतिपूजिताः: not duly honored
• अप्रतिपूजिताः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-प्रति-पूजित (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; नकारार्थ-उपपद; जामयः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• कृत्याभिः: by sorceries/evil rites
• कृत्याभिः: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृत्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; करण

• निहतानि: struck down/destroyed
• निहतानि: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि-√हन् (धातु) → निहत (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; गेहानि इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• इव: as if/like
• इव: Upamā (Comparison)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमा (simile marker)

• नश्येयुः: would perish
• नश्येयुः: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नश् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; सम्भावना/फलश्रुति

• तानि: those (houses)
• तानि: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्ता (नश्येयुः इत्यस्य)

• असंशयम्: without doubt
• असंशयम्: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अ-सम्-शय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-प्राय (क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण), अव्यय; निश्चयार्थ (certainly)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A household courtyard: a neglected sister-in-law stands with tearful anger, uttering a curse; the house shows omens of decline (withered lamp, cracked pot). In contrast, a parallel vignette shows honoring with gifts and respectful seating, restoring light and prosperity.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It teaches that disrespect within the family destroys prosperity; honoring relatives sustains auspiciousness and stability.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse is a household-dharma warning within the Kāśī Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It implies the duty of proper honoring (pratipūjā) of female relatives by marriage to avoid inauspicious consequences.