Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 19
तददत्ता कथं स्वैरमहमन्यं वरं वृणे । वृतोपि न कुलीनश्चेद्गुणवान्न च शीलवान्
tadadattā kathaṃ svairamahamanyaṃ varaṃ vṛṇe | vṛtopi na kulīnaścedguṇavānna ca śīlavān
«Puesto que aún no he sido entregada (en matrimonio), ¿cómo podría yo, por mi sola voluntad, escoger libremente a otro esposo? Y aun si lo escogiera, ¿de qué serviría si no es de linaje noble, ni virtuoso, ni de recta conducta?»
Skanda (deduced; Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)
Tirtha: Kāśī (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Scene: The woman weighs choices with a thoughtful, restrained expression; in the background, silhouettes of potential suitors appear as faint figures, while she focuses on a symbolic scale balancing ‘kula’, ‘guṇa’, and ‘śīla’.
FAQs
Dharma is presented as ordered and value-based: lineage, virtues, and conduct matter, and impulsive choice is cautioned against.
No tirtha is named; the verse is part of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s moral-narrative teaching within Kāśī’s sacred setting.
None; it discusses marital propriety and ethical qualifications.