Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

विधवानां स्तना यद्वद्धृद्येव विलयंति च । उन्नम्योन्नम्य तत्रोच्चैस्तद्वत्खलमनोरथाः

Transliteration

vidhavānāṃ stanā yadvaddhṛdyeva vilayaṃti ca | unnamyonnamya tatroccaistadvatkhalamanorathāḥ

Translation

ດັ່ງດຽວກັບເຕົ້ານົມຂອງແມ່ຫມ້າຍທີ່ຍົກຂຶ້ນຊ້ຳໆ ແລ້ວກໍຈົມຫາຍເຂົ້າສູ່ອົກ ຄວາມປາຖະໜາຂອງຄົນຊົ່ວກໍສູງຂຶ້ນຊ້ຳໆ ແຕ່ທ້າຍສຸດກໍພັງທະລາຍລົງ।

Word by Word

• विधवानाम्: of widows
• विधवानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विधवा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• स्तनाः: breasts
• स्तनाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्तन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• यद्वत्: just as
• यद्वत्: Upamana-marker (उपमान-सूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यद्वत् (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्यय (comparative particle: 'just as')

• हृदि: in the heart
• हृदि: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हृद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• विलयन्ति: dissolve/vanish
• विलयन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-लि (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• च: and
• च: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• उन्नम्य: having raised
• उन्नम्य: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-नम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), 'having raised'

• उन्नम्य: again having raised
• उन्नम्य: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-नम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), पुनरुक्ति (repetition)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: 'there')

• उच्चैः: highly/aloud
• उच्चैः: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उच्चैः (अव्यय)
• Form: रीतिवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: 'high/loudly')

• तद्वत्: likewise
• तद्वत्: Upameya-correlative (उपमेय-सूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्वत् (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानानुसारी-अव्यय (correlative: 'so/likewise')

• खल-मनोरथाः: the desires of the wicked
• खल-मनोरथाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: खल (प्रातिपदिक) + मनोरथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी/सम्बन्ध: 'of the wicked'); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

Speaker

Vyāsa (narrative voice; speaker not explicitly marked in this verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: a proud, scheming figure climbing a high platform repeatedly, each time slipping and falling; in the background, the luminous silhouette of Kāśī as the steady, unshaken ideal.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ambitions rooted in adharma repeatedly rise but cannot sustain themselves; they inevitably collapse.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; it serves as a moral reflection in the Kāśīkhaṇḍa context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.