Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

अजासमजतो मध्यात्काचिदेका च बर्करी । भ्रांता सती समायाता प्रदेशे तत्र दुश्चरे

Transliteration

ajāsamajato madhyātkācidekā ca barkarī | bhrāṃtā satī samāyātā pradeśe tatra duścare

Translation

Aus der Mitte einer Ziegenherde trat eine einzelne barkarī hervor; verirrt und umherirrend gelangte sie in jene schwer zugängliche Gegend.

Word by Word

• अजासमजतः: of goats and (other) animals (a herd)
• अजासमजतः: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अजा (प्रातिपदिक) + समज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (अजा च समजश्च)

• मध्यात्: from the middle
• मध्यात्: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th case), एकवचन

• काचित्: a certain (one)
• काचित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; अनिश्चित-प्रत्यययुक्त सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun)

• एका: one
• एका: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; विशेषण (काचित् इति विशेष्य)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• बर्करी: a barkarī (a kind of animal)
• बर्करी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बर्करी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• भ्रान्ता: having wandered / lost
• भ्रान्ता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भ्रान्त (कृदन्त; भ्रम् धातु, क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त; विशेषण

• सती: being
• सती: Kriya-Visheshana (Adverbial participle/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सत् (कृदन्त; अस् धातु, शतृ/सत्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; वर्तमानकृदन्त; भावे/अवस्थायाम् (while being)

• समायाता: came
• समायाता: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + आ + या (धातु) + क्त (आयात)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (past participle)

• प्रदेशे: in a region
• प्रदेशे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रदेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• दुश्चरे: hard to traverse
• दुश्चरे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुस् (उपसर्ग/प्रातिपदिक) + चर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; विशेषण (प्रदेशे); उपपद-तत्पुरुष (दुष्करः चरः यस्मिन्)

Speaker

Śrī Nārada (continuing narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Staṃbha-tīrtha

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A herd of goats in a forested coastal tract; one lone barkarī separates, looking back anxiously, then steps into a thorny, hard-to-traverse thicket near the tīrtha.

Characters & Entities

• Staṃbha-tīrtha (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic tīrtha-stories often begin with a wandering figure whose arrival becomes the seed for a sacred explanation and later merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse continues the setting near Staṃbha-tīrtha (named in the preceding verse).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse.