Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

पितृगेहे तु या कन्या रजः पश्येदसंस्कृता । भ्रूणहा तत्पिता ज्ञेयो वृषली सापि कन्यका

Transliteration

pitṛgehe tu yā kanyā rajaḥ paśyedasaṃskṛtā | bhrūṇahā tatpitā jñeyo vṛṣalī sāpi kanyakā

Translation

若一位少女尚未经应行之仪轨而得净化（即未出嫁），却在父家初见月事，则其父当被视为“杀胎者”；而此女亦被判为失其应有之身分。

Word by Word

• पितृगेहे: in the father’s house
• पितृगेहे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + गेह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘पितुः गेहे’)

• तु: but, indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (contrastive particle)

• या: who (a certain)
• या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम

• कन्या: girl, maiden
• कन्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• रजः: menstrual flow
• रजः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• पश्येत्: should see/experiences (i.e., gets)
• पश्येत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• असंस्कृता: unmarried/unsanctified
• असंस्कृता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ + संस्कृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √कृ)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नञ्-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण (‘not consecrated/unsanctified’, i.e., unmarried)

• भ्रूणहा: slayer of an embryo
• भ्रूणहा: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भ्रूण (प्रातिपदिक) + हन् (धातु) → हन्-प्रातिपदिक ‘हा’
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (‘भ्रूणं हन्ति’ इति)

• तत्: that (her)
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (पिता इति विशेष्य)

• पिता: father
• पिता: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ज्ञेयः: is to be known (as)
• ज्ञेयः: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु) + यत् (कृदन्त) → ज्ञेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; यत्-प्रत्ययान्त भाव्य/विधेय (‘to be known/considered’)

• वृषली: a śūdra-woman (vṛṣalī)
• वृषली: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषली (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; जातिवाचक

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (inclusive/emphatic particle)

• कन्यका: a girl (maiden)
• कन्यका: Karta (Predicate nominative/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्यका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A worried father in a traditional household setting, elders counseling, the daughter in a private chamber symbolically indicated (curtain/threshold), with a moralizing narrator presence; the atmosphere is admonitory rather than celebratory.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse stresses the traditional duty of guardians to ensure timely life-cycle rites; neglect is portrayed as a grave moral failing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

It is part of Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s dharma instruction; the emphasis is ethical conduct within the Kāśī Māhātmya setting rather than a named micro-tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A traditional insistence on completing appropriate saṃskāras (contextually, marriage-related consecration) in due time.