Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

अथ तस्याः स्मृतिर्जाता पूर्वजन्मसमुद्भवा । चंडालत्वे मया पूर्वं गौरेका वितृषीकृता

Transliteration

atha tasyāḥ smṛtirjātā pūrvajanmasamudbhavā | caṃḍālatve mayā pūrvaṃ gaurekā vitṛṣīkṛtā

Translation

তখন তার পূর্বজন্মজাত স্মৃতি জাগল—“আগে চণ্ডাল অবস্থায় আমি একবার গৌরবর্ণ গাভীর তৃষ্ণা নিবারণ করেছিলাম।”

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (discourse particle)

• tasyāḥ: of her
• tasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• smṛtiḥ: memory
• smṛtiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: smṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• jātā: arose
• jātā: Kriya (Predicate complement/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jan (धातु) + ta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; (स्मृतिः) ‘arisen’

• pūrva-janma-samudbhavā: arising from a former birth
• pūrva-janma-samudbhavā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrva + janma + samudbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (pūrvasya janmanaḥ samudbhavā); स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण

• caṇḍālatve: in (the state of) being a caṇḍāla
• caṇḍālatve: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/state/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caṇḍālatva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; अस्मद्-शब्द

• pūrvam: formerly
• pūrvam: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrvam (अव्यय)
• Form: काल-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• gaurī: Gaurī (a woman named Gaurī)
• gaurī: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaurī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• ekā: one
• ekā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण

• vitṛṣīkṛtā: was made thirstless / was deprived of thirst
• vitṛṣīkṛtā: Kriya (Predicate action/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi + tṛṣī + kṛ (धातु) + ta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्मणि-भावे: ‘made thirstless / deprived of thirst’

Speaker

The woman (inner recollection reported in the narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages (frame implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The maiden pauses in the sacred field as a luminous flash of remembrance arises; a vignette-like past-life scene appears: a caṇḍāla woman offering water to a thirsty cow.

Characters & Entities

• Gau (cow)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even a single compassionate act (like relieving thirst) becomes enduring puṇya, ripening across births—especially when awakened in a sacred kṣetra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Implicitly the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra context of Adhyāya 62, where the kṣetra’s power to awaken karmic memory is being shown.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal rite is prescribed; the verse highlights go-sevā/compassion as dharma generating puṇya.