Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

अतोऽत्र युवयोरैको नारीविभ्रमवेषधृक् । एकस्तस्या पतिर्भूत्वा जायेतां विप्रदंपती

Transliteration

ato'tra yuvayoraiko nārīvibhramaveṣadhṛk | ekastasyā patirbhūtvā jāyetāṃ vipradaṃpatī

Translation

അതുകൊണ്ട് ഇവിടെ നിങ്ങളിൽ ഒരാൾ സ്ത്രീവേഷവും സ്ത്രീഭാവവും ധരിക്കട്ടെ; മറ്റാൾ അവളുടെ ഭർത്താവായി—നിങ്ങൾ ഇരുവരും ബ്രാഹ്മണ ദമ്പതികളായി തോന്നുക।

Word by Word

• ataḥ: therefore
• ataḥ: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), कारण/निगमनार्थक (therefore/so)

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), देशवाचक (locative adverb: here)

• yuvayoḥ: of you two
• yuvayoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuvam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), षष्ठी विभक्ति (6th/genitive), द्विवचन (dual)

• ekaḥ: one (person)
• ekaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/nominative), एकवचन (singular)

• nārī-vibhrama-veṣa-dhṛk: wearing a womanly-disguise attire
• nārī-vibhrama-veṣa-dhṛk: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक) + vibhrama (प्रातिपदिक) + veṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + dhṛ (धातु)
• Form: समास: तत्पुरुष (determinative); धृक् = धृ धातोः कृत्-प्रत्ययान्त (कृदन्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अर्थः—नारीविभ्रमस्य वेषं धारयन् (wearing a womanly-disguise attire)

• ekaḥ: one (other)
• ekaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tasyāḥ: of her
• tasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), षष्ठी (genitive), एकवचन

• patiḥ: husband
• patiḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• bhūtvā: having become
• bhūtvā: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive), धातु: भू (to be), अर्थः—भूत्वा = having become

• jāyetām: let (you two) be born / become
• jāyetām: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लोट् लकार (imperative), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), द्विवचन (dual)

• vipra-daṃpatī: a brahmin couple (husband and wife)
• vipra-daṃpatī: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक) + dampatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: कर्मधारय (descriptive); पुंलिङ्ग (द्वन्द्वार्थे दम्पती—dual couple), प्रथमा, द्विवचन

Speaker

Rājā (king) (contextual; explicit ‘rājovāca’ appears in v.24, indicating the king is the speaker in this passage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king in court instructs two young brāhmaṇa men; one is to assume a woman’s attire and gestures, the other to pose as her husband—an uneasy, strategic plan set against palace architecture.

Characters & Entities

• Rājā
• Dvijakumārakau (two brāhmaṇa youths)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It frames a morally risky command—testing how dharma responds when authority demands deception.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it is narrative and ethical in focus.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse concerns adopting a disguise and social role.