Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

वाहीको नामतो यज्ञसूत्रमात्रपरिग्रहः । परिग्रहश्च तस्यासीत्कौविंदी विधवा नवा

Transliteration

vāhīko nāmato yajñasūtramātraparigrahaḥ | parigrahaśca tasyāsītkauviṃdī vidhavā navā

Translation

他名为婆希迦，所持之物唯有圣线而已。而他在世间的执著，则是一位出自织工族（Kauviṃdī）的年轻寡妇。

Word by Word

• वाहीकः: Vāhīka
• वाहीकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाहीक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• नामतः: by name
• नामतः: Hetu/Prakara (Manner/हेतु-प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नामतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/हेतुवाचक (as to name/by name)

• यज्ञसूत्रमात्रपरिग्रहः: one whose only possession was the sacred thread
• यज्ञसूत्रमात्रपरिग्रहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञसूत्र + मात्र + परिग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—यज्ञसूत्रं मात्रं यस्य परिग्रहः (तत्पुरुष/विशेष्य-विशेषण-सम्बन्ध)

• परिग्रहः: (his) possession/household
• परिग्रहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परिग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (and)

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• आसीत्: was
• आसीत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• कौविंदी: Kauviṃdī (a woman’s name)
• कौविंदी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौविंदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• विधवा: widowed
• विधवा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विधवा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• नवा: young/newly (widowed)
• नवा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Maheśvara (Śiva) (continuing narration)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Viṣṇu

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Portrait of Vāhīka: sacred thread visible, otherwise impoverished; beside him a young widow from a weaver community—depicting attachment and social transgression as narrative tension.

Characters & Entities

• Vāhīka
• Kauviṃdī (weaver woman)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

External symbols (like the sacred thread) do not replace inner discipline; unchecked attachment becomes a cause for downfall.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is specified in this verse; it sets character context within the Kāśī-khaṇḍa’s broader holiness-and-liberation theme.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; the verse implicitly contrasts mere yajñopavīta with the lived duties of dharma.