Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

हा वत्स क्व गतो मां त्वं विमुच्य भ्रातरं निजम् । ज्येष्ठं प्राणसमं किं ते स्नेहोऽद्य विगतः क्वचित्

Transliteration

hā vatsa kva gato māṃ tvaṃ vimucya bhrātaraṃ nijam | jyeṣṭhaṃ prāṇasamaṃ kiṃ te sneho'dya vigataḥ kvacit

Translation

Weh, mein liebes Kind! Wohin bist du gegangen und hast mich verlassen—deinen eigenen Bruder, den Älteren, so teuer wie das Leben selbst? Ist deine Zuneigung heute entschwunden, und wohin?

Word by Word

• hā: alas!
• hā: Sambandha (Exclamation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hā (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्गार (interjection) — lament

• vatsa: dear child
• vatsa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vatsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग

• kva: where
• kva: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Place/क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नाव्यय (interrogative adverb) — place

• gataḥ: gone
• gataḥ: Karta (Predicate/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु) → gata (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन, पुल्लिङ्ग — 'gone' (state)

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• vimucya: having abandoned
• vimucya: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Gerundial modifier/क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vi-muc (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund) — 'having left/abandoned'

• bhrātaram: brother
• bhrātaram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhrātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग

• nijam: one’s own
• nijam: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग; विशेषण (qualifying bhrātaram)

• jyeṣṭham: elder
• jyeṣṭham: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jyeṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग; विशेषण (qualifying bhrātaram)

• prāṇa-samam: as dear as life
• prāṇa-samam: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग; समासः—तत्पुरुष (उपमान-सम्बन्ध) 'equal to (my) life'

• kim: what?
• kim: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रश्न (interrogative)

• te: your
• te: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• snehaḥ: affection
• snehaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sneha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग

• adya: today/now
• adya: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Time/क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• vigataḥ: has departed
• vigataḥ: Karta (Predicate/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-gam (धातु) → vigata (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन, पुल्लिङ्ग — 'gone away/ceased' (agreeing with snehaḥ)

• kvacit: somewhere/at all
• kvacit: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Scope/क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kvacit (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्न/अनिश्चित-अव्यय (indefinite/interrogative adverb) — 'somewhere/at all'

Speaker

Rāma (Raghunandana)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (contextual) sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An elder brother cries out to the absent/fallen younger: hands raised, eyes tearful; the scene emphasizes tenderness (‘vat्सा’) amid a somber landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• Lakṣmaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Attachment naturally grieves, yet dharma ultimately guides one from lamentation toward right action and sacred rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha name appears in this individual verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not in this verse; it is a direct lament.