Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

वैश्या च काचिदभवत्क्रयविक्रयचंचुरा । व्यालग्राहिण्यभूत्काचिद्दासीधात्री च काचन

Transliteration

vaiśyā ca kācidabhavatkrayavikrayacaṃcurā | vyālagrāhiṇyabhūtkāciddāsīdhātrī ca kācana

Translation

ഒരു സ്ത്രീ വൈശ്യയായി മാറി വാങ്ങൽ‑വിൽപ്പനയിൽ നിപുണയായി. മറ്റൊരാൾ ഭീകര ജീവികളെ പിടിക്കുന്നവളായി. മറ്റൊരാൾ ദാസിയും ധാത്രിയും (പാൽഅമ്മ) ആയി നഗരത്തിൽ സേവിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• वैश्या: a vaiśya woman (merchant-class woman)
• वैश्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैश्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• काचित्: some (woman)
• काचित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क- (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; अनिर्दिष्टा (indefinite pronoun)

• अभवत्: was/became
• अभवत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• क्रयविक्रयचंचुरा: skilled in buying and selling
• क्रयविक्रयचंचुरा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रय + विक्रय + चंचुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• व्यालग्राहिणी: a catcher of serpents/wild creatures
• व्यालग्राहिणी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्याल + ग्राहिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• अभूत्: was/became
• अभूत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• काचित्: some (woman)
• काचित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क- (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; अनिर्दिष्टा (indefinite pronoun)

• दासीधात्री: a maidservant and nurse
• दासीधात्री: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दासी + धात्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समाहार/समुच्चयार्थ (one who is both)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• काचन: some (other woman)
• काचन: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क- (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; अनिर्दिष्टा (indefinite pronoun)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya ṛṣis (typical frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bustling Kāśī street near ghāṭa-steps: a woman merchant weighing goods, another handling a captured serpent/creature with a forked staff, a maid attending a household, and a nurse holding an infant—temples and pilgrims in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī
• Vaiśyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even amid varied livelihoods and social roles, life in Kāśī is framed within a sacred narrative where all conditions can be oriented toward dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as a sacred city; this verse itself emphasizes city-life roles rather than naming a specific tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is descriptive rather than prescriptive.