Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

विनैव स्तन्यपानेन षोडशाब्दाकृतिः क्षणात् । एवंभूतः सुतो गौरि यथा मे स्यात्तथाकुरु

Transliteration

vinaiva stanyapānena ṣoḍaśābdākṛtiḥ kṣaṇāt | evaṃbhūtaḥ suto gauri yathā me syāttathākuru

Translation

«من غير أن يرضع لبن الأم، فليتخذ في لحظة هيئة فتى في السادسة عشرة. يا غَورِي، امنحيني أن يكون لي ابنٌ كهذا—افعلي ذلك على هذا النحو بعينه.»

Word by Word

• vinā: without
• vinā: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्गसदृश-निषेधार्थक/वियोगार्थक (indeclinable; without)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (indeclinable; emphatic/only)

• stanya-pānena: by drinking milk
• stanya-pānena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: stanya (प्रातिपदिक) + pāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; स्तन्यस्य पानम् इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (instrumental singular; by drinking milk)

• ṣoḍaśa-ābda-ākṛtiḥ: the form of a sixteen-year-old
• ṣoḍaśa-ābda-ākṛtiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣoḍaśa (संख्या) + ābda (प्रातिपदिक) + ākṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; षोडशानाम् अब्दानाम् आकृतिः इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषसमासः (nominative singular; form/appearance of sixteen years)

• kṣaṇāt: in an instant
• kṣaṇāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन (ablative singular; in/from a moment)

• evaṃ-bhūtaḥ: such (like this)
• evaṃ-bhūtaḥ: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: evaṃ (अव्यय) + bhūta (कृदन्त; भू धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; भू (भवति) धातोः क्त-प्रत्ययान्तः (past participle) — ‘एवं’ इति अव्ययीभावसमासः (nominative singular; such/so become)

• sutaḥ: son
• sutaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: suta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन (nominative singular)

• gauri: O Gaurī
• gauri: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaurī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन (vocative singular)

• yathā: as/so that
• yathā: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; यथार्थक-उपमान/प्रकारवाचक (indeclinable; as/so that)

• me: my/for me
• me: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन (genitive singular)

• syāt: may be
• syāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम् (may be)

• tathā: thus
• tathā: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (indeclinable; thus/so)

• kuru: do (it)
• kuru: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम् (do/make)

Speaker

A queen (rājñī) petitioning Goddess Gaurī (Pārvatī); narrative context within Skanda Purāṇa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A queen prays to Gaurī for a son who instantly becomes a sixteen-year-old youth, bypassing infancy; the moment is charged with divine radiance and maternal awe.

Characters & Entities

• Gaurī (Pārvatī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional surrender (bhakti) to the Goddess is presented as a direct cause for divine grace granting even extraordinary boons.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within the Kāśīkhaṇḍa framework (Kāśī/Varanasi Mahatmya context), though this specific line focuses on a boon-request rather than naming a tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated here; the emphasis is on prayerful petition to Gaurī.