Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 94

Devanagari script

पुरश्चरणमेवैतद्यदस्यैव विसर्जनम् । सुश्लाघ्यजन्मया तावत्प्राणितव्यं सुयोषिता । यावज्जीवितनाथस्याश्रवणीया विगर्हणा

Transliteration

puraścaraṇamevaitadyadasyaiva visarjanam | suślāghyajanmayā tāvatprāṇitavyaṃ suyoṣitā | yāvajjīvitanāthasyāśravaṇīyā vigarhaṇā

Translation

ഇതുതന്നെയാണ് യഥാർത്ഥ പുരശ്ചരണം—ഈ ദേഹത്തെ തന്നെയൊഴിവാക്കൽ. സുകുലജന്മയായ സതീ സ്ത്രീ, നാഥൻ ജീവിച്ചിരിക്കെ അവന്റെ അപകീർത്തി കേൾക്കേണ്ടിവരാത്തത്ര കാലം മാത്രം ജീവിക്കണം.

Word by Word

• puraścaraṇam: puraścaraṇa (preparatory rite/penance)
• puraścaraṇam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puras (अव्यय/उपसर्गार्थ) + caraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव-समास (puras + caraṇam → ‘preliminary rite/penance’)

• eva: indeed, only
• eva: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• etat: this
• etat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन (neuter nom/acc singular)

• yat: which
• yat: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• asya: of this
• asya: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन (genitive singular)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphasis)

• visarjanam: abandoning, giving up
• visarjanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: visarjana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन (neuter nom/acc singular)

• suślāghya-janmayā: by/with (a woman) of very praiseworthy birth
• suślāghya-janmayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + ślāghya (प्रातिपदिक) + janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (suślāghyam janma यस्याः सा—‘of highly praiseworthy birth’; here instr. fem. sg qualifying implied ‘suyoṣitā’)

• tāvat: so long; to that extent
• tāvat: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण/अवधिवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of extent)

• prāṇitavyam: should be lived (one must live)
• prāṇitavyam: Kriya (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √prāṇ (प्राण् धातु) + तव्यत् (tavya)
• Form: तव्यत्-कृदन्त (gerundive), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (ought to be lived/sustained)

• suyoṣitā: a good woman
• suyoṣitā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: su + yoṣit (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (सु + योषित् = ‘good woman’)

• yāvat: until; as long as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधिवाचक-अव्यय (until/as long as)

• jīvita-nāthasya: of the lord of (her) life (husband)
• jīvita-nāthasya: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jīvita (प्रातिपदिक) + nātha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (jīvitasya nāthaḥ—‘lord of life’, i.e., husband)

• aśravaṇīyā: not fit to be heard
• aśravaṇīyā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- (नञ्) + śravaṇīya (प्रातिपदिक; √śru + अनीय)
• Form: अनीय-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; नञ्-निषेध (not to be heard)

• vigarhaṇā: reproach, blame
• vigarhaṇā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vi + √garh (गर्ह् धातु) + युच्/अन (प्रातिपदिक-निर्माण)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन (feminine, nominative singular)

Speaker

Unknown from snippet (same narrative speaker)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and Ṛṣis (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A decisive declaration: the woman frames self-relinquishment as the only ‘observance’; her posture is upright, eyes fierce with resolve, while attendants recoil in sorrow.

Characters & Entities

• Puraścaraṇa
• Dharma of a virtuous wife (pativratā ideal)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse frames extreme renunciation as a dharma-response to unbearable dishonor, stressing the sanctity of one’s lord and the gravity of public reproach.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named; the teaching is delivered within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa’s Kāśī milieu.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It uses the term “puraścaraṇa” in a radical sense—interpreting it here as renouncing the body—rather than detailing japa, homa, or vrata steps.