Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

ततः सा गोकुले बद्धं स्मृत्वा स्वं लघुवत्सकम् । अतृणादं पयोवृत्तिं करुणं पर्यदेवयत्

Transliteration

tataḥ sā gokule baddhaṃ smṛtvā svaṃ laghuvatsakam | atṛṇādaṃ payovṛttiṃ karuṇaṃ paryadevayat

Translation

Da erinnerte sie sich an ihr kleines Kalb, das im Kuhstall angebunden war, und klagte voller Erbarmen: Das Junge, das nur von Milch lebt und noch kein Gras fressen kann, würde ohne sie leiden.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Sambandha (discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/कारणसूचक (thereupon/then)

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• गोकुले: in the cowherd-settlement
• गोकुले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• बद्धम्: bound
• बद्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: बन्ध् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृत्; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्मविशेषण (bound)

• स्मृत्वा: having remembered
• स्मृत्वा: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्मृ (धातु) + त्वा (अव्ययकृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund); पूर्वकाल (having remembered)

• स्वम्: her own
• स्वम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; स्वकीय (own)

• लघु-वत्सकम्: little calf
• लघु-वत्सकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लघु (प्रातिपदिक) + वत्सक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (लघुः वत्सकः); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• अ-तृण-आदम्: not eating grass
• अ-तृण-आदम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ (नञ्) + तृण (प्रातिपदिक) + आद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नञ्-तत्पुरुष-समास (तृणं न आदः = not eating grass); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; वत्सक-विशेषण

• पयः-वृत्तिम्: living on milk
• पयः-वृत्तिम्: Karma (Object complement/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पयस् (प्रातिपदिक) + वृत्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (पयसा वृत्तिः = subsisting on milk); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; वत्सक-विशेषणार्थे

• करुणम्: piteously
• करुणम्: Kriya-viseshana (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: करुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (pitifully)

• पर्यदेवयत्: lamented
• पर्यदेवयत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-देव् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परिदेवयति = विलपति (lamented)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual, unspecified)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijottama (addressed brāhmaṇa listener)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Nandinī, facing death, turns inward remembering her calf tied in the cow-pen; the calf is imagined as milk-dependent, unable to graze, intensifying her lament.

Characters & Entities

• Nandinī
• gokula
• vatsa (calf)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True dharma includes compassion and responsibility—here, maternal care becomes a moral force within a tīrtha narrative.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse sits within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya framework; the specific tīrtha name is not stated in this single shloka.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly in this verse; it is narrative context preparing for a dharma-centered episode connected with tīrtha merit.