Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

तया च यौवनं प्राप्य मेघच्छायातिचंचलम् । प्रावृण्नदीपूरसमं स्वपतिः परिवंचितः

Transliteration

tayā ca yauvanaṃ prāpya meghacchāyāticaṃcalam | prāvṛṇnadīpūrasamaṃ svapatiḥ parivaṃcitaḥ

Translation

Et elle, parvenue à la jeunesse—instable comme l’ombre d’un nuage et tumultueuse comme un fleuve en saison des pluies—trompa son propre époux.

Word by Word

• तया: by her
• तया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करणम्/सहायक

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• यौवनम्: youth
• यौवनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यौवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म

• प्राप्य: having attained
• प्राप्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र (उपसर्ग) + आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); ‘having attained’

• मेघच्छायातिचंचलम्: very fickle like a cloud’s shadow
• मेघच्छायातिचंचलम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मेघ (प्रातिपदिक) + छाया (प्रातिपदिक) + अति (अव्यय) + चञ्चल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (यौवनस्य); तत्पुरुषः (मेघच्छायावत् अति चञ्चलम्)

• प्रावृण्नदीपूरसमम्: like a river-flood in the rainy season
• प्रावृण्नदीपूरसमम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रावृट् (प्रातिपदिक) + नदी (प्रातिपदिक) + पूर (प्रातिपदिक) + सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (यौवनस्य); तत्पुरुषः (प्रावृट्काले नदीपूर इव समम्)

• स्वपतिः: her own husband
• स्वपतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (स्वः पति = her own husband)

• परिवंचितः: was deceived
• परिवंचितः: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि (उपसर्ग) + वञ्च् (धातु) + वंचित (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (passive sense): ‘was deceived’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda speaking to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (general frame)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Muni/ṛṣi audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A young woman adorned, standing near a window or riverbank; above her a passing cloud casts a shifting shadow; beside her a swollen monsoon river surges—visual metaphors of fickleness and turbulence; a husband figure is shown unaware or turned away, indicating deception.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unchecked desire and fickleness in youth can lead to betrayal, which violates gṛhastha-dharma and invites suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśī Khaṇḍa setting underlies the discourse, but no particular tirtha is mentioned in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is an ethical warning within a narrative.