Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

धर्म्यैर्विवाहैर्जायंते धर्म्या एव शतायुषः । अधर्म्यैर्धर्मरहिता मंदभाग्यधनायुषः

Transliteration

dharmyairvivāhairjāyaṃte dharmyā eva śatāyuṣaḥ | adharmyairdharmarahitā maṃdabhāgyadhanāyuṣaḥ

Translation

धर्म्यैर्विवाहैः धर्म्याः सन्तानाः जायन्ते, शतायुषः सधर्मिणः। अधर्म्यैर्विवाहैः तु धर्मरहिताः, मन्दभाग्यधनायुषश्च प्रजाः जायन्ते।

Word by Word

• धर्म्यैः: by righteous
• धर्म्यैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; विशेषण (with marriages)

• विवाहैः: by marriages
• विवाहैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विवाह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• जायन्ते: are born
• जायन्ते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान/present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

• धर्म्याः: righteous
• धर्म्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (of persons/offspring implied)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (emphatic: indeed/only)

• शतायुषः: having a hundred-year lifespan
• शतायुषः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक) + आयुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (शतं आयुः यस्य); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• अधर्म्यैः: by unrighteous
• अधर्म्यैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अधर्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; विशेषण (with marriages implied)

• धर्मरहिताः: devoid of dharma
• धर्मरहिताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + रहित (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-निष्पन्न)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (धर्मेण रहित); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• मन्दभाग्यधनायुषः: of poor fortune, wealth, and lifespan
• मन्दभाग्यधनायुषः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मन्द (प्रातिपदिक) + भाग्य (प्रातिपदिक) + धन (प्रातिपदिक) + आयुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमास (मन्दं भाग्यं धनं आयुः येषाम्); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two contrasted family lineages: one luminous household with righteous parents and healthy, long-lived children; the other shadowed household with discord and frailty—an allegory of dharma vs adharma outcomes.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Agastya
• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Householder choices shape future generations; dharmic unions are portrayed as a source of longevity and virtue, while adharmic unions yield decline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī frames the discourse as a dharma-teaching landscape, but the verse itself is a general principle rather than a site praise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No single ritual act is prescribed; it states the karmic outcomes of dharmic versus adharmic marriages.