Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

गृहस्थः स हि विज्ञेयो यस्य गेहे पतिव्रता । ग्रसतेऽन्या प्रतिपदं राक्षस्या जरयाथवा

Transliteration

gṛhasthaḥ sa hi vijñeyo yasya gehe pativratā | grasate'nyā pratipadaṃ rākṣasyā jarayāthavā

Translation

ആരുടെ വീട്ടിൽ പതിവ്രതയായ ഭാര്യയുണ്ടോ അവനേ സത്യഗൃഹസ്ഥനെന്ന് അറിയണം. അല്ലെങ്കിൽ ദിനംപ്രതി ജരാരൂപിണിയായ രാക്ഷസിയെപ്പോലെ മറ്റൊന്ന് ഗൃഹത്തെ ഗ്രസിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• गृहस्थः: householder
• गृहस्थः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृहस्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• सः: he/that (person)
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• हि: indeed/for
• हि: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपातार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अव्यय

• विज्ञेयः: to be known/recognized
• विज्ञेयः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + ज्ञा (धातु) → विज्ञेय (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, तव्यत्/यत्-प्रत्ययार्थः)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (predicative adjective)

• यस्य: whose/of whom
• यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (of whom)

• गेहे: in the house
• गेहे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन

• पतिव्रता: a devoted wife (faithful to her husband)
• पतिव्रता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति + व्रत (प्रातिपदिक); पतिव्रता (स्त्रीलिङ्ग-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पतेः व्रतम् यस्याः सा)

• ग्रसते: devours/consumes
• ग्रसते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रस् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• अन्या: another (woman)
• अन्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• प्रतिपदम्: at every step/each day
• प्रतिपदम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रतिपद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावार्थे अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः; क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial accusative)

• राक्षस्या: by a demoness
• राक्षस्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• जरया: by old age
• जरया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अथवा: or
• अथवा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथवा (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Kāśī household courtyard: a devoted wife maintaining lamp and pūjā while a shadowy, skeletal rākṣasī-like figure of Jarā (decay) lurks at the threshold, symbolizing daily erosion when dharma is absent.

Characters & Entities

• Gṛhastha
• Pativratā
• Rākṣasī
• Jarā (decay/old age)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A household is truly dharmic only when grounded in virtue; without it, decline consumes life gradually.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching occurs within Kāśī-khaṇḍa’s sacred narrative frame, not tied to a single named tirtha in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse uses moral instruction and metaphor rather than a stated rite.