Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

या नारी पतिना त्यक्ता वंध्या वा भक्तिसंयुता । तृतीयादिवसे चैतां पूजयिष्यति केशव

Transliteration

yā nārī patinā tyaktā vaṃdhyā vā bhaktisaṃyutā | tṛtīyādivase caitāṃ pūjayiṣyati keśava

Translation

Welche Frau auch immer vom Gatten verlassen wurde oder selbst unfruchtbar ist—wenn sie von Hingabe erfüllt ist,—o Keśava, soll sie Sie verehren, beginnend am dritten Mondtag.

Word by Word

• yā: who (which woman)
• yā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• nārī: woman
• nārī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• patinā: by (her) husband
• patinā: Kartr/Agent in passive (कर्ता-भाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• tyaktā: abandoned
• tyaktā: Predicate adjective (Viśeṣaṇa/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √tyaj (धातु) → tyakta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying nārī)

• vandhyā: barren
• vandhyā: Predicate adjective (Viśeṣaṇa/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vandhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• vā: or
• vā: Discourse particle (Nipāta/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle)

• bhakti-saṃyutā: endowed with devotion
• bhakti-saṃyutā: Predicate adjective (Viśeṣaṇa/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃyuta (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-भाव)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तृतीया/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थ (devotion-endowed) विशेषण

• tṛtīya-ādi-vase: on the third day and onwards
• tṛtīya-ādi-vase: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tṛtīya (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + vasa/vas (प्रातिपदिक; 'day')
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; कालवाचक-सप्तमी; तृतीयादि- (from the third onward)

• ca: and
• ca: Connector (Nipāta/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• etām: this (goddess/rite/object)
• etām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• pūjayiṣyati: will worship
• pūjayiṣyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pūj (धातु) णिच् (causative)
• Form: लृट् (Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिजन्त (causative)

• keśava: O Keśava
• keśava: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: keśava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Brahmā (addressing Viṣṇu as Keśava; continuing phala/instruction)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Keśava/Vāsudeva (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sorrowful yet resolute woman approaches a shrine of Keśava, beginning her observance on tṛtīyā; she carries flowers and a small vessel of unguent, her posture turning from grief to devotion.

Characters & Entities

• Keśava (Viṣṇu)
• Subhadrā (contextual)
• Tṛtīyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion is presented as a restorative spiritual power, offering hope and auspicious change even in social and personal hardship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The excerpt does not name the tīrtha; it remains within the chapter’s sacred-place framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Women in distress are advised to worship Subhadrā starting on Tṛtīyā (the third lunar day).