Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

सदाचारो गृहे यद्वन्न तथास्त्याश्रमांतरे । विद्याजातं पठित्वांते गृहस्थाश्रममाश्रयेत्

Transliteration

sadācāro gṛhe yadvanna tathāstyāśramāṃtare | vidyājātaṃ paṭhitvāṃte gṛhasthāśramamāśrayet

Translation

สทาจาระดังที่มีอยู่ในเรือนนั้น หาได้มีเช่นนั้นในอาศรมอื่นไม่ เพราะฉะนั้นเมื่อศึกษาวิทยาเสร็จสิ้นแล้ว ในบั้นปลายพึงอาศัยคฤหัสถ์อาศรม คือเพศครองเรือน

Word by Word

• sadācāraḥ: good conduct
• sadācāraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sad-ācāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (good conduct)

• gṛhe: in the house
• gṛhe: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• yadvat: just as
• yadvat: Upamāna (Comparative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadvat (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानवाचक अव्यय (as/just as)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation)

• tathā: so, likewise
• tathā: Upamāna (Correlative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: तद्वत्/एवम्-अर्थक अव्यय (so, likewise)

• asti: is
• asti: Kriyā (Predicate verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• āśrama-antare: in another stage of life (āśrama)
• āśrama-antare: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āśrama (प्रातिपदिक) + antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; सप्तमी-तत्पुरुषः (in another āśrama)

• vidyā-jātam: the acquired learning
• vidyā-jātam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidyā (प्रातिपदिक) + jāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (that which has arisen as learning / the body of learning)

• paṭhitvā: having studied
• paṭhitvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: paṭh (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive): ‘having studied/read’

• ante: at the end
• ante: Kāla (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययवत् (at the end)

• gṛhastha-āśramam: the householder stage
• gṛhastha-āśramam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛhastha (प्रातिपदिक) + āśrama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (the householder-āśrama)

• āśrayet: should resort to
• āśrayet: Kriyā (Predicate verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-śri (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Kāśī Khaṇḍa context: Skanda to Agastya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A learned graduate returns home, establishing a sacred domestic space: household fire, guests welcomed, daily pūjā—sadācāra depicted as orderly, luminous domestic ritual life.

Characters & Entities

• Sadācāra
• Āśrama
• Gṛhastha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The householder stage is upheld as a primary arena for lived dharma and right conduct after completing study.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tirtha is named in this verse; it occurs within the Kāśī teaching context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A life-stage prescription: after study, embrace gṛhastha-āśrama and practice sadācāra.