Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

या भर्तारं परित्यज्य रहश्चरति दुर्मतिः । उलूकी जायते क्रूरा वृक्षकोटरशायिनी

Transliteration

yā bhartāraṃ parityajya rahaścarati durmatiḥ | ulūkī jāyate krūrā vṛkṣakoṭaraśāyinī

Translation

ഭർത്താവിനെ ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് രഹസ്യമായി സഞ്ചരിക്കുന്ന ദുർമതി സ്ത്രീ ക്രൂരമായ പെൺമൂങ്ങയായി പുനർജന്മം പ്രാപിച്ച്, മരക്കുഴികളിൽ ശയിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• yā: she who
• yā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध-सूचक (relative pronoun)

• bhartāram: husband
• bhartāram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhartṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• parityajya: having abandoned
• parityajya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pari-tyaj (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वक्रिया

• rahaḥ: secretly
• rahaḥ: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: rahas (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययवत्)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: 'secretly/in private')

• carati: moves about, behaves
• carati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: car (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present indicative), परस्मैपद, प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• durmatiḥ: the ill-minded woman
• durmatiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: durmati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• ulūkī: a female owl
• ulūkī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ulūkī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• jāyate: is born, becomes
• jāyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present indicative), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• krūrā: cruel
• krūrā: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृ-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: krūra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

• vṛkṣa-koṭara-śāyinī: dwelling in tree-hollows
• vṛkṣa-koṭara-śāyinī: Karta (Subject complement/कर्तृ-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + koṭara (प्रातिपदिक) + śāyinī (शे/शी धातु से कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी/सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषार्थे (tree-hollow-dwelling), विशेषण

Speaker

Skanda (deduced for Kāśīkhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A shadowed forest edge at dusk: a woman moving furtively away from a household; in the next vignette, a fierce she-owl (ulūkī) perched at a tree hollow, embodying the karmic transformation.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It warns that betrayal and secret misconduct against household dharma lead to painful karmic consequences.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a karmic warning rather than a ritual instruction.