Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

यदा पतिव्रतानां तु कथास्मद्भवने भवेत् । तदा प्राथमिकीं रेखामेषाऽलंकुरुते सती

Transliteration

yadā pativratānāṃ tu kathāsmadbhavane bhavet | tadā prāthamikīṃ rekhāmeṣā'laṃkurute satī

Translation

เมื่อใดในเรือนของเรามีการสาธยายเรื่องศักดิ์สิทธิ์แห่งสตรีผู้ถือพรตภักดีต่อสามี (ปติวรตา) เมื่อนั้นเองสตรีผู้บริสุทธิ์นี้ย่อมประดับ “รอยมงคลแรก” ตามควรแก่สตรีผู้ครองพรหมจรรย์ใจ

Word by Word

• यदा: when
• यदा: Adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: “when”)

• पतिव्रतानाम्: of the devoted wives
• पतिव्रतानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पतिव्रता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन; समासः—पति+व्रता (तत्पुरुष)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात/समुच्चय-व्यतिरेकसूचक (particle: “but/indeed”)

• कथा: the story/discourse
• कथा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• अस्मत्-भवने: in our house
• अस्मत्-भवने: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + भवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; समासः—अस्मत्+भवन (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: “our house”)

• भवेत्: may occur/be
• भवेत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (then)

• प्राथमिकीम्: primary/first
• प्राथमिकीम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्राथमिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier of रेखाम्)

• रेखाम्: line/stroke
• रेखाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रेखा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• एषा: this (woman)
• एषा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• अलंकुरुते: adorns/embellishes
• अलंकुरुते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अलंकृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• सती: the virtuous woman
• सती: Karta (Apposition/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सती (प्रातिपदिक; सत्-स्त्री)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्तृवाचक-विशेष्य (appositive to एषा)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; within Kāśīkhaṇḍa dialogue, typically Skanda’s narration to Agastya, but this verse itself is in third-person narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inside a Kāśī household courtyard, a virtuous woman prepares for a pativratā-kathā: she draws the first auspicious line/mark on the threshold or floor, while elders arrange a seat for recitation and a lamp glows softly.

Characters & Entities

• pativratā
• satī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Honoring dharma through reverence for sacred narratives—especially the exemplars of pativratā virtue—purifies domestic life and makes it auspicious.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The larger frame is the Kāśī Khaṇḍa (Vārāṇasī/Kāśī māhātmya), though this particular verse highlights household auspiciousness rather than naming a specific tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An auspicious ‘first mark/line’ (prāthamikā rekhā) is made/adorned when the pativratā-kathā is recited—indicating a customary rite of sanctifying the occasion.