Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 107

Devanagari script

पतिता गुरवस्त्याज्या माता च न कथंचन । गर्भधारणपोषाभ्यां तेन माता गरीयसी

Transliteration

patitā guravastyājyā mātā ca na kathaṃcana | garbhadhāraṇapoṣābhyāṃ tena mātā garīyasī

Translation

Even if teachers have fallen from right conduct, they may be abandoned; but a mother is never to be abandoned in any circumstance. By bearing the womb and by nourishing, the mother is therefore the weightier, the more venerable.

Word by Word

• पतिताः: fallen (from conduct)
• पतिताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पतित (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-भूतकृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; धातु: पत् (to fall)

• गुरवः: elders/teachers
• गुरवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• त्याज्याः: to be abandoned
• त्याज्याः: Kriya (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्याज्य (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-तव्यत्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; धातु: त्यज्; तव्यत् (gerundive: 'to be abandoned')

• माता: mother
• माता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• च: but/and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• कथंचन: in any manner (at all)
• कथंचन: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथंचन (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (indefinite adverb: 'in any way/at all')

• गर्भधारणपोषाभ्याम्: by (the acts of) carrying the womb and nourishing
• गर्भधारणपोषाभ्याम्: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्भ-धारण-पोष (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), द्विवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (garbhadhāraṇa + poṣa)

• तेन: therefore/by that
• तेन: Hetu/Instrumental (Reason/तृतीया-हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• माता: mother
• माता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• गरीयसी: more venerable/greater
• गरीयसी: Kriya (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गरीयस् (प्रातिपदिक; तुलनात्मक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; तुलनात्मक (comparative)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), contextually addressing the sages (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stern didactic moment: a sage/elder instructs a conflicted youth, emphasizing the mother’s womb-bearing and nurturing; imagery of pregnancy and feeding as sacred acts.

Characters & Entities

• Guravaḥ

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It asserts the absolute, non-negotiable duty to honor and never forsake one’s mother.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is praised; the verse is a strong normative statement of dharma.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal ritual is stated; the prescription is ethical: never abandon the mother and recognize her supreme claim to reverence.