Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

अत्रिपत्न्यनसूया किं भर्तृभक्तिप्रभावतः । दधार न त्रयीं गर्भे पतिव्रत परायणा

Transliteration

atripatnyanasūyā kiṃ bhartṛbhaktiprabhāvataḥ | dadhāra na trayīṃ garbhe pativrata parāyaṇā

Translation

อนสูยา ภรรยาของฤๅษีอัตริ ผู้มุ่งมั่นในพรตแห่งภรรยาผู้ภักดี (ปติวรตา) มิได้อุ้มชู ‘พระเวททั้งสาม’ ไว้ในครรภ์ด้วยอานุภาพแห่งภักติต่อสามีดอกหรือ?

Word by Word

• अत्रिपत्नी: Atri’s wife
• अत्रिपत्नी: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अत्रि + पत्नी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (genitive tatpuruṣa): अत्रेः पत्नी; स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• अनसूया: Anasūyā
• अनसूया: कर्ता (Subject/apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनसूया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular); नाम (proper noun)

• किम्: what?/how?
• किम्: प्रश्न (Interrogative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (interrogative), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (singular)

• भर्तृभक्तिप्रभावतः: from the power of devotion to her husband
• भर्तृभक्तिप्रभावतः: हेतु/अपादान (Cause/Ablative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भर्तृ + भक्ति + प्रभाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (tatpuruṣa): भर्तृ-भक्ति-प्रभाव (power/effect of devotion to husband); पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (singular)

• दधार: she bore/held
• दधार: क्रिया (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: धृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

• न: not
• न: निषेध (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle), अव्यय

• त्रयीम्: the Vedic triad / three Vedas
• त्रयीम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रयी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• गर्भे: in (her) womb
• गर्भे: अधिकरण (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (singular)

• पतिव्रता: a devoted wife (pativratā)
• पतिव्रता: कर्ता (Subject/apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति + व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (tatpuruṣa): पतेः व्रतम् यस्याः; स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• परायणा: wholly devoted
• परायणा: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular); विशेषण (qualifying the subject)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Kāśīkhaṇḍa commonly Skanda → Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Munis/audience addressed in the chapter

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Anasūyā, serene and radiant, seated in an āśrama setting; within her womb is symbolically depicted the ‘trayī’—three luminous streams or three Vedic fires—signifying the three Vedas sustained by her pativratā power; Atri nearby in tapas.

Characters & Entities

• Anasūyā
• Atri
• Trayī (Vedic triad)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion grounded in dharma is celebrated as a creative, sustaining force—linking household virtue with sacred knowledge (Trayī).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśīkhaṇḍa context glorifies Kāśī overall; this verse uses Anasūyā as a dharmic exemplar rather than naming a particular shrine.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the emphasis is on ethical vow (vrata) and devotion as dharma.