Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

यथाहं न तथा पुत्रः समर्थः सर्वकर्मसु । पुन्नामनरकाद्भद्रे जातमात्रेण सुन्दरि

Transliteration

yathāhaṃ na tathā putraḥ samarthaḥ sarvakarmasu | punnāmanarakādbhadre jātamātreṇa sundari

Translation

Anders als ich ist ein Sohn nicht notwendigerweise zu jeder Pflicht befähigt; doch, o Glückverheißende und Schöne, schon durch seine Geburt erlöst er (den Vater) aus der Hölle namens Punnāma.

Word by Word

• yathā: as
• yathā: Modifier (Comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमान/प्रकार-अव्यय (comparative adverb)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Modifier (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय

• tathā: so, in that way
• tathā: Modifier (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकार-अव्यय (correlative adverb: ‘so/thus’)

• putraḥ: a son
• putraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• samarthaḥ: capable
• samarthaḥ: Adjective (Viśeṣaṇa/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samartha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण (पुत्र-विशेषण)

• sarva-karmasu: in all actions
• sarva-karmasu: Adhikarana (Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), बहुवचन; अधिकरण (locative)

• pun-nāma-narakāt: from the hell called ‘Pun’
• pun-nāma-narakāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pun (प्रातिपदिक) + nāman (प्रातिपदिक) + naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; अपादान (ablative: source)

• bhadre: O auspicious lady
• bhadre: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhadrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• jāta-mātreṇa: by mere birth (as soon as born)
• jāta-mātreṇa: Karana (Means/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √jan (धातु) + mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP: jāta), नपुंसकलिङ्ग? (here as indeclinable-like instrumental phrase), तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; ‘जाता-मात्र’ = just-born; करण (instrumental: ‘by mere birth’)

• sundari: O beautiful one
• sundari: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sundarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

Speaker

Atri (deduced from immediate context; reply continues until explicit speaker change at 17)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) as pitṛ-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solemn turn in the dialogue: the speaker contrasts personal capability with the metaphysical function of a son rescuing from Punnāma-naraka; imagery can juxtapose domestic scene with a faint vision of a netherworld being lifted.

Characters & Entities

• Atri
• Punnāma-naraka
• Putra (son)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Puranic pitr̥-dharma emphasizes that progeny, especially a son, is traditionally seen as a means of safeguarding ancestral welfare—even beyond death.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is thematic (pitr̥-welfare) rather than directly naming a tīrtha; it appears within the Revā Khaṇḍa context connected with the sacred Revā (Narmadā) region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed in this verse; it states the doctrinal benefit attributed to the birth of a son.