Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

प्रवर्त्तंते हि मासेषु चतुर्षु च न संशयः । चातुर्मास्ये देवपत्न्यः सर्वा वल्लीसमाश्रि ताः

Transliteration

pravarttaṃte hi māseṣu caturṣu ca na saṃśayaḥ | cāturmāsye devapatnyaḥ sarvā vallīsamāśri tāḥ

Translation

Wahrlich, in diesen vier Monaten—ohne jeden Zweifel—werden diese Observanzen besonders wirksam. Im Cāturmāsya, so heißt es, verweilen alle Gemahlinnen der Götter in Ranken und Schlingpflanzen.

Word by Word

• प्रवर्तन्ते: they proceed/occur
• प्रवर्तन्ते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र√वृत् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम् (plural), आत्मनेपदम् (Ātmanepada)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपातः (particle), अवधानार्थ/हेतौ (indeed/for)

• मासेषु: in the months
• मासेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः (masc.), सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative/7th), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• चतुर्षु: in four
• चतुर्षु: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे (masc. agreeing with मासेषु), सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative/7th), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्ययम् (negation particle)

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः (masc.), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (singular)

• चातुर्मास्ये: in the Cāturmāsya (four-month period)
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (neut.), सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative/7th), एकवचनम् (singular)

• देवपत्न्यः: the wives of the gods
• देवपत्न्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवपत्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः (fem.), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• सर्वाः: all
• सर्वाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः (fem.), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• वल्ली-समाश्रिताः: having taken refuge in creepers
• वल्ली-समाश्रिताः: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वल्ली (प्रातिपदिक) + सम्-आ-√श्रि (धातु) → समाश्रित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत्-प्रत्ययान्तः (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्गे (fem. agreeing with देवपत्न्यः), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; समासः: वल्लीं समाश्रिताः (those who have resorted to creepers)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Cāturmāsya-activated vṛkṣa/latā-kṣetra (within the Pippala grove)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Monsoon-season grove: vines heavy with rain; women devotees offer lamps and flowers to creepers; subtle presence of devapatnīs shimmering within the foliage; a calendar-like emphasis on four sacred months.

Characters & Entities

• Cāturmāsya
• Devapatnīs (wives of the gods)
• Vallīs (creepers/vines)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cāturmāsya is presented as a heightened sacred season when devotion expressed through nature (vines/creepers) becomes especially potent.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage frames the sacred ecology (trees and vines) within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa tīrtha setting rather than naming a single city-tīrtha in these lines.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Observance of Cāturmāsya and honoring sacred vegetation (especially vines) as divine abodes is implied.