Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 123

Devanagari script

सूतिकागृहकृत्यानि यानि कार्याणि बंधुभिः । चक्रिरे मातृवत्तानि मृगावत्या मुनिस्त्रियः

Transliteration

sūtikāgṛhakṛtyāni yāni kāryāṇi baṃdhubhiḥ | cakrire mātṛvattāni mṛgāvatyā munistriyaḥ

Translation

Die Frauen der Weisen verrichteten für Mṛgāvatī, als wäre sie ihre eigene Mutter, alle Pflichten, die Verwandte in der Wochenstube zu tun pflegen.

Word by Word

• सूतिका-गृह-कृत्यानि: postnatal-house duties
• सूतिका-गृह-कृत्यानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूतिका (प्रातिपदिक) + गृह (प्रातिपदिक) + कृत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः) — ‘सूतिकायाः गृहस्य कृत्यानि’

• यानि: which
• यानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक-सर्वनाम

• कार्याणि: tasks to be done
• कार्याणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्य (प्रातिपदिक; कृ-धातोः यत्-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन

• बन्धुभिः: by the relatives
• बन्धुभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बन्धु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• चक्रिरे: they performed
• चक्रिरे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• मातृवत्-तानि: those (acts) as a mother would (do)
• मातृवत्-तानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मातृ (प्रातिपदिक) + वत् (तद्धित-प्रत्यय) + तद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन; ‘मातृवत्’ = मातृसदृश (like a mother) + ‘तानि’ (those)

• मृगावत्या: by Mṛgāvatī
• मृगावत्या: Karana (Instrument/Agentive-instr./करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृगावती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• मुनि-स्त्रियः: the sages’ wives
• मुनि-स्त्रियः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक) + स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः) — ‘मुनेः स्त्रियः’

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; speaker not explicit in this snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inside a secluded maternity chamber, ascetic women gently perform postpartum rites—warming water, arranging protective herbs/threads, offering blessings—treating Mṛgāvatī with maternal reverence.

Characters & Entities

• Mṛgāvatī
• munistriyaḥ (wives of sages)
• sūtikāgṛha (maternity chamber)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Service to the vulnerable—especially mothers and children—is upheld as lived dharma within sacred communities.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setukhaṇḍa provides the sacred-geography frame, but the verse focuses on āśrama-based communal care.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No mantra or vrata is prescribed; it references customary family duties around childbirth.