Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

अत्रिपत्न्यनसूया किं भर्तृभक्तिप्रभावतः । दधार न त्रयीं गर्भे पतिव्रत परायणा

Transliteration

atripatnyanasūyā kiṃ bhartṛbhaktiprabhāvataḥ | dadhāra na trayīṃ garbhe pativrata parāyaṇā

Translation

¿Acaso Anasūyā, esposa de Atri—entregada por completo como pativratā—no sostuvo en su seno, por el poder de su devoción al esposo, el triple Veda?

Word by Word

• अत्रिपत्नी: Atri’s wife
• अत्रिपत्नी: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अत्रि + पत्नी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (genitive tatpuruṣa): अत्रेः पत्नी; स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• अनसूया: Anasūyā
• अनसूया: कर्ता (Subject/apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनसूया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular); नाम (proper noun)

• किम्: what?/how?
• किम्: प्रश्न (Interrogative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (interrogative), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (singular)

• भर्तृभक्तिप्रभावतः: from the power of devotion to her husband
• भर्तृभक्तिप्रभावतः: हेतु/अपादान (Cause/Ablative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भर्तृ + भक्ति + प्रभाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (tatpuruṣa): भर्तृ-भक्ति-प्रभाव (power/effect of devotion to husband); पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (singular)

• दधार: she bore/held
• दधार: क्रिया (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: धृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

• न: not
• न: निषेध (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle), अव्यय

• त्रयीम्: the Vedic triad / three Vedas
• त्रयीम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रयी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• गर्भे: in (her) womb
• गर्भे: अधिकरण (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (singular)

• पतिव्रता: a devoted wife (pativratā)
• पतिव्रता: कर्ता (Subject/apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति + व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (tatpuruṣa): पतेः व्रतम् यस्याः; स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• परायणा: wholly devoted
• परायणा: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular); विशेषण (qualifying the subject)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Munis/audience addressed in the chapter

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Anasūyā, serene and radiant, seated in an āśrama setting; within her womb is symbolically depicted the ‘trayī’—three luminous streams or three Vedic fires—signifying the three Vedas sustained by her pativratā power; Atri nearby in tapas.

Characters & Entities

• Anasūyā
• Atri
• Trayī (Vedic triad)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion grounded in dharma is celebrated as a creative, sustaining force—linking household virtue with sacred knowledge (Trayī).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśīkhaṇḍa context glorifies Kāśī overall; this verse uses Anasūyā as a dharmic exemplar rather than naming a particular shrine.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the emphasis is on ethical vow (vrata) and devotion as dharma.