Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

भगवंश्चानपत्यस्य वार्द्धकं मे समागतम् । तस्मादपत्यलाभाय ममोपायं प्रकीर्तय

Transliteration

bhagavaṃścānapatyasya vārddhakaṃ me samāgatam | tasmādapatyalābhāya mamopāyaṃ prakīrtaya

Translation

Er sprach: „O Ehrwürdiger, das Alter ist über mich gekommen, während ich noch ohne Kind bin. Darum verkünde mir das Mittel, durch das ich Nachkommenschaft erlangen kann.“

Word by Word

• bhagavan: O venerable one
• bhagavan: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• anapatyasya: of (me) childless one
• anapatyasya: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: an-apatya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन

• vārddhakam: old age
• vārddhakam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārddhaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• me: to me / for me
• me: Sambandha (to me/for me)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive) / चतुर्थी (Dative), एकवचन; enclitic

• samāgatam: has come
• samāgatam: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-gam (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘has come/arrived’

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu/Apadana (Reason/Source)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तस्मात्-रूपेण अव्ययीभाववत्; अपादानार्थे (ablatival adverb: ‘therefore/from that’)

• apatya-lābhāya: for obtaining offspring
• apatya-lābhāya: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: apatya (प्रातिपदिक) + lābha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (Dative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (apatyasya lābhaḥ)

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन

• upāyam: means/remedy
• upāyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन

• prakīrtaya: tell/proclaim
• prakīrtaya: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-kīrt (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

Siddha (the seeker; name not given in snippet) addressing Bṛhaspati

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close-up of Haṃsa speaking with humility: bowed head, hands joined; Bṛhaspati listening with compassionate steadiness; visual emphasis on wrinkles/white hair to signify vārdhakya.

Characters & Entities

• Bṛhaspati

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human limitation is acknowledged with humility, and divine-aligned effort is sought through proper instruction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The site is not named in this verse; it prepares for the later instruction to go to Camatkārapura.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A request is made for an upāya (means), which will be specified in subsequent verses as pilgrimage, worship, and austerity.