Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

अतोऽत्र युवयोरैको नारीविभ्रमवेषधृक् । एकस्तस्या पतिर्भूत्वा जायेतां विप्रदंपती

Transliteration

ato'tra yuvayoraiko nārīvibhramaveṣadhṛk | ekastasyā patirbhūtvā jāyetāṃ vipradaṃpatī

Translation

پس یہاں تم دونوں میں سے ایک عورت کا بھیس اور انداز اختیار کرے، اور دوسرا اس کا شوہر بن کر—تم دونوں برہمن میاں بیوی کی صورت میں ظاہر ہو جاؤ۔

Word by Word

• ataḥ: therefore
• ataḥ: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), कारण/निगमनार्थक (therefore/so)

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), देशवाचक (locative adverb: here)

• yuvayoḥ: of you two
• yuvayoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuvam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), षष्ठी विभक्ति (6th/genitive), द्विवचन (dual)

• ekaḥ: one (person)
• ekaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/nominative), एकवचन (singular)

• nārī-vibhrama-veṣa-dhṛk: wearing a womanly-disguise attire
• nārī-vibhrama-veṣa-dhṛk: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक) + vibhrama (प्रातिपदिक) + veṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + dhṛ (धातु)
• Form: समास: तत्पुरुष (determinative); धृक् = धृ धातोः कृत्-प्रत्ययान्त (कृदन्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अर्थः—नारीविभ्रमस्य वेषं धारयन् (wearing a womanly-disguise attire)

• ekaḥ: one (other)
• ekaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• tasyāḥ: of her
• tasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), षष्ठी (genitive), एकवचन

• patiḥ: husband
• patiḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• bhūtvā: having become
• bhūtvā: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive), धातु: भू (to be), अर्थः—भूत्वा = having become

• jāyetām: let (you two) be born / become
• jāyetām: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लोट् लकार (imperative), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), द्विवचन (dual)

• vipra-daṃpatī: a brahmin couple (husband and wife)
• vipra-daṃpatī: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक) + dampatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: कर्मधारय (descriptive); पुंलिङ्ग (द्वन्द्वार्थे दम्पती—dual couple), प्रथमा, द्विवचन

Speaker

Rājā (king) (contextual; explicit ‘rājovāca’ appears in v.24, indicating the king is the speaker in this passage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king in court instructs two young brāhmaṇa men; one is to assume a woman’s attire and gestures, the other to pose as her husband—an uneasy, strategic plan set against palace architecture.

Characters & Entities

• Rājā
• Dvijakumārakau (two brāhmaṇa youths)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It frames a morally risky command—testing how dharma responds when authority demands deception.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it is narrative and ethical in focus.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse concerns adopting a disguise and social role.