Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

शममेनो व्रजेदेवं बैजं गर्भजमवे च । स्त्रीणामेताः क्रियास्तूष्णीं पाणिग्राहस्तु मंत्रवान्

Transliteration

śamameno vrajedevaṃ baijaṃ garbhajamave ca | strīṇāmetāḥ kriyāstūṣṇīṃ pāṇigrāhastu maṃtravān

Translation

Ainsi s’apaisent et s’éloignent les impuretés héritées et celles nées du sein. Pour les femmes, ces rites s’accomplissent en silence ; mais le rite de la prise de la main au mariage (pāṇigraha) se célèbre avec des mantras.

Word by Word

• śamam: pacification/quieting
• śamam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• enaḥ: sin/impurity
• enaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: enas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• vrajet: should proceed/should be done
• vrajet: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vraj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद (Parasmaipada), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• evam: thus/in this way
• evam: Kriya-visheshana (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकार-अव्यय (manner adverb)

• baijam: seed-born (paternal)
• baijam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: baija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• garbha-jam: womb-born (maternal)
• garbha-jam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: garbha (प्रातिपदिक) + ja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः तत्पुरुषः; नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• ave: in a sheep (as an offering/animal context)
• ave: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (and)

• strīṇām: of women
• strīṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• etāḥ: these
• etāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• kriyāḥ: rites
• kriyāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kriyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• tūṣṇīm: silently
• tūṣṇīm: Kriya-visheshana (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tūṣṇīm (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकार-अव्यय (adverb: silently)

• pāṇi-grāhaḥ: hand-taking (marriage rite)
• pāṇi-grāhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāṇi (प्रातिपदिक) + grāha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः तत्पुरुषः; पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• tu: but
• tu: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेष-अव्यय (but/however)

• mantra-vān: with mantras
• mantra-vān: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mantra (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (तद्धित)
• Form: तद्धितान्त (possessive), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda (contextual continuity)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Symbolic purification: a priest performs saṃskāra rites as dark wisps (doṣas) dissolve; a parallel scene shows a wedding pāṇigraha with mantras, sacred fire, and the couple’s joined hands.

Characters & Entities

• Pāṇigraha (marriage rite)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Saṃskāras are portrayed as purificatory, reducing inherited and embodied impurities and establishing dharmic life-stages.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction is part of Kāśī’s Kāśīkhaṇḍa teaching on dharma; no specific tirtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Women’s rites are indicated as performed silently, while the marriage hand-taking (pāṇigraha) is explicitly mantra-accompanied.