Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मण्युवाच । नाहं पतिं प्रयास्यामि कुमारी ब्रह्मचारिणी । देया प्रिया सखी यत्र तावद्यास्यामि तत्र च

Transliteration

brāhmaṇyuvāca | nāhaṃ patiṃ prayāsyāmi kumārī brahmacāriṇī | deyā priyā sakhī yatra tāvadyāsyāmi tatra ca

Translation

Das Brahmanenmädchen sprach: "Ich werde nicht zu einem Ehemann gehen; ich bin eine Jungfrau, die Keuschheit gelobt hat. Wo immer meine geliebte Freundin ist, dorthin werde ich gehen."

Word by Word

• brāhmaṇī: the Brahmin woman
• brāhmaṇī: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; वक्तृ-निर्देशः

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकारः (Perfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

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

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उभयलिङ्ग-प्रयोगः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम

• patim: husband
• patim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम्, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• prayāsyāmi: I will go/accept (as husband)
• prayāsyāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + yā (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकारः (Simple Future), परस्मैपदम्, उत्तमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• kumārī: a maiden
• kumārī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kumārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• brahmacāriṇī: a celibate student
• brahmacāriṇī: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmacāriṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणार्थे (appositional)

• deyā: to be given/should be given
• deyā: Vidhi (Obligation predicate/विधि)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धातु) + ya (कृत्)
• Form: कर्तव्यतार्थक-कृदन्तः (gerundive), स्त्रीलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विधेय-विशेषणम् (अहं/कुमारी)

• priyā: dear
• priyā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: priyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• sakhī: female friend/companion
• sakhī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sakhī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; सहचर्य-निर्देशः

• yatra: where
• yatra: Desha-adhikarana (Locative sense/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (relative adverb: where)

• tāvat: so far/then
• tāvat: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण/अवधि-वाचक-अव्ययम् (correlative: so far/that much)

• yāsyāmi: I will go
• yāsyāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकारः (Simple Future), परस्मैपदम्, उत्तमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• tatra: there
• tatra: Desha-adhikarana (Locative sense/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (correlative adverb: there)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

Speaker

Brāhmaṇī (the maiden/daughter)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Elders/decision-makers in the episode (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A brāhmaṇa maiden, modestly dressed, speaks with calm firmness: she will not go to a husband; she will follow her beloved friend wherever she is given. The mood is tender yet resolute.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇī (maiden)
• sakhī (friend)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Personal vows (vrata-like resolve) and inner conviction are presented as powerful dhārmic commitments.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is part of the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya narrative, though no site-name appears in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, it affirms brahmacarya (chastity) as a discipline; no external rite is described.