Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

मातरं पितरं दृष्ट्वा विनयावनतः क्वचित् । क्वचिच्च गंगापुलिने सिकतालेपनाकृतिः

Transliteration

mātaraṃ pitaraṃ dṛṣṭvā vinayāvanataḥ kvacit | kvacicca gaṃgāpuline sikatālepanākṛtiḥ

Translation

Manchmal, wenn er Mutter und Vater erblickt, verneigt er sich demütig in Ehrfurcht; und manchmal spielt er am Ufer der Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā), indem er Sand bestreicht und zu Formen gestaltet.

Word by Word

• मातरम्: mother
• मातरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• पितरम्: father
• पितरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive): having seen

• विनयावनतः: bowed down in humility
• विनयावनतः: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विनय (प्रातिपदिक) + अवनत (कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्यय; नम् धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (विनयेन अवनतः)

• क्वचित्: sometimes
• क्वचित्: Adhikarana (Adverbial locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: sometimes)

• क्वचित्: sometimes
• क्वचित्: Adhikarana (Adverbial locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: sometimes)

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

• गङ्गापुलिने: on the bank of the Gaṅgā
• गङ्गापुलिने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक) + पुलिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (गङ्गायाः पुलिनम्)

• सिकतालेपनाकृतिः: a form/figure made by smearing sand
• सिकतालेपनाकृतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिकता (प्रातिपदिक) + लेपन (प्रातिपदिक) + आकृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (सिकताया लेपनम्; तस्य आकृतिः)

Speaker

Brahmā

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā) pulina

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A divine child (Kumāra/Skanda) alternates between bowing to mother and father with folded hands and playing on the Gaṅgā’s sandy bank, shaping and smearing sand forms near the waterline.

Characters & Entities

• Kārtikeya (Skanda)
• Gaṅgā
• Mother
• Father (Śiva implied, Pārvatī implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Humility (vinaya) is shown even in the divine, while sacred rivers like Gaṅgā are portrayed as natural settings for holy presence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā’s bank is referenced as a sanctified setting; the larger textual frame remains Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya in Nāgara Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse is narrative and devotional, highlighting vinaya and the sanctity of Gaṅgā’s environs.