Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

अथ मध्येवरोधं स प्रविश्य निजमायया । दृष्टार्थमेव कथयन्स्त्रीणां विस्रंभभूरभूत्

Transliteration

atha madhyevarodhaṃ sa praviśya nijamāyayā | dṛṣṭārthameva kathayanstrīṇāṃ visraṃbhabhūrabhūt

Translation

പിന്നീട് അവൻ തന്റെ മായയാൽ സ്ത്രീകളുടെ അന്തഃപുരത്തിലേക്ക് കടന്നു; ‘കണ്ട കാര്യങ്ങൾ’ മാത്രമെന്നപോലെ വിശ്വസനീയമായി സംസാരിച്ച് സ്ത്രീകളുടെ വിശ്വാസഭൂമിയായി മാറി।

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्ध/अनन्तरार्थक-अव्यय (conjunctive adverb) = ‘then/now’

• मध्ये: in the middle
• मध्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वरोधम्: the inner quarters
• वरोधम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वरोध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘inner apartments/women’s quarters’

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

• प्रविश्य: having entered
• प्रविश्य: Kriya (Adverbial action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√विश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्यय-कृदन्त) = ‘having entered’; उपसर्गः प्र-

• निजमायया: by his own illusion
• निजमायया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निज + माया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (निजा माया)

• दृष्टार्थम्: with his aim accomplished
• दृष्टार्थम्: Kriya (Adverbial qualifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दृष्ट + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (दृष्टः अर्थः यस्य/दृष्टार्थम्) = ‘with purpose achieved/with the matter seen’

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (emphatic particle)

• कथयन्: speaking
• कथयन्: Kriya (Concomitant action/सहक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कथ् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्यय (वर्तमान-कृदन्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘telling/speaking’

• स्त्रीणाम्: of the women
• स्त्रीणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• विस्रंभभूः: a source of trust
• विस्रंभभूः: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विस्रंभ + भू (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (विस्रंभस्य भूः) = ‘ground/cause of confidence’

• अभूत्: became
• अभूत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: लुङ्-लकार (अनद्यतनभूत/अोरिस्ट), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A disguised figure enters a secluded inner courtyard; women listen as he speaks confidently, gesturing as if citing ‘evidence.’ The atmosphere is intimate yet uneasy, with a sense of hidden danger behind polite conversation.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Deceit gains entry by sounding ‘reasonable’; dharma requires careful discernment, especially where trust is easily won.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The larger Kāśī setting frames the episode; the verse itself is narrative and does not praise a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.