Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 82

Devanagari script

गृहाश्रमात्परं नास्ति यदि पत्नीवशंवदा । आनुकूल्यं हि दंपत्योस्त्रिवर्गोदय हेतवे

Transliteration

gṛhāśramātparaṃ nāsti yadi patnīvaśaṃvadā | ānukūlyaṃ hi daṃpatyostrivargodaya hetave

Translation

Il n’est rien de plus élevé que le gṛhastha-āśrama, pourvu que l’on ne soit pas sous la domination de l’épouse. Car l’accord entre mari et femme est bien la cause de l’épanouissement des trois buts : dharma, artha et kāma.

Word by Word

• gṛha-āśramāt: than the householder stage
• gṛha-āśramāt: Apādāna (Ablative comparison/source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक) + āśrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (from the householder-āśrama)

• param: higher, superior
• param: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र विधेयविशेषण (higher)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय

• asti: is
• asti: Kriyā (Predicate verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Condition marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तबोधक अव्यय (conditional ‘if’)

• patnī-vaśam-vadā: (one who is) under the wife’s control
• patnī-vaśam-vadā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: patnī (प्रातिपदिक) + vaśa (प्रातिपदिक) + vadā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (patnī-vaśaṃ vadati/ācarati iti: one who is under wife’s control)

• ānukūlyam: harmony, mutual favor
• ānukūlyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ānukūlya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र प्रथमा (subject)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (indeed)

• daṃpatyoḥ: of the couple (husband and wife)
• daṃpatyoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daṃpatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विवचनान्त-प्रातिपदिक; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), द्विवचन

• tri-varga-udaya: rise of the three aims of life
• tri-varga-udaya: Sambandha (Related goal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + varga (प्रातिपदिक) + udaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्विगु-तत्पुरुषः (rise of the three aims: dharma-artha-kāma)

• hetave: for the purpose/cause
• hetave: Sampradāna/Prayojana (Purpose/Dative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hetu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśī Khaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A balanced household: husband and wife jointly offering to the household fire and feeding guests; the three aims (dharma, artha, kāma) symbolized as three lamps burning steadily due to harmony.

Characters & Entities

• Gṛhastha
• Dampatī
• Trivarga (Dharma-Artha-Kāma)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Household life supports dharma and prosperity when the couple lives in harmony and self-mastery is maintained.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tirtha is named; the instruction appears within the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s broader liberation geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; it is an ethical-social guideline about marital harmony enabling the trivarga.