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

„Ohne auch nur Muttermilch zu trinken, möge er im Nu die Gestalt eines Sechzehnjährigen annehmen. O Gaurī, gewähre, dass ein solcher Sohn der meine sei—so tue es, genau so.“

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.