Vamana Purana — Birth of Skanda (Kartikeya), Shloka 17

The Birth and Consecration of Skanda (Kartikeya) at Kurukshetra

Devanagari script

सा श्रुत्वा ब्रह्मणो वाक्यं रूपिणी गिरिमागता आगत्य गर्भं तत्याज सुखेनैवाद्रिनन्दिनी

Transliteration

sā śrutvā brahmaṇo vākyaṃ rūpiṇī girimāgatā āgatya garbhaṃ tatyāja sukhenaivādrinandinī

Translation

31

Word by Word

• सा: she
• सा: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st); एकवचन

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: क्रियाविशेषण (Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/Adverbial to main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (prior action)

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahmā
• ब्रह्मणः: सम्बन्ध (Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha/Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th); एकवचन

• वाक्यम्: statement, words
• वाक्यम्: कर्म (Karma/Object of ‘श्रुत्वा’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd); एकवचन

• रूपिणी: having a form, embodied
• रूपिणी: कर्ता-विशेषण (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• गिरिम्: mountain
• गिरिम्: कर्म (Karma/Object of ‘आगता’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• आगता: having come/arrived
• आगता: कर्ता (Karta; participle agreeing with subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन; (आगता = ‘having come/arrived’)

• आगत्य: having come
• आगत्य: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial to main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• गर्भम्: embryo, fetus
• गर्भम्: कर्म (Karma/Object of ‘तत्याज’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन

• तत्याज: abandoned, cast off
• तत्याज: क्रिया (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect); परस्मैपद; प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person); एकवचन

• सुखेन: with ease
• सुखेन: करण (Karaṇa/Instrument; manner)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd); एकवचन

• एव: indeed, just
• एव: सम्बन्ध/निपात (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle); अवधारण (emphasis)

• अद्रिनन्दिनी: daughter of the mountain (Pārvatī)
• अद्रिनन्दिनी: कर्ता (Karta; apposition to ‘सा’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अद्रि (प्रातिपदिक) + नन्दिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative: ‘अद्रेः नन्दिनी’); स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; एकवचन; उपनाम/विशेष्य (appositional noun)

Speakers

• Narrator voice continuing the account; the prior command is Brahmā’s
• acted upon by the adrinandinī.

Primary Deities

• Brahmā

Key Themes

• Obedience to divine speech (brahma-vākya)
• Sacred landscape as womb/incubator
• Miraculous/effortless garbha-tyāga
• Etiology of a future sacred birth

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

What does ‘garbhaṃ tatyāja’ mean here—miscarriage, abandonment, or ritual deposition?

In Purāṇic idiom, ‘tyāga’ of a garbha can denote a deliberate, divinely instructed release/deposition rather than a pathological miscarriage. The framing—obedience to Brahmā and ‘with ease’—supports a purposeful sacred act tied to place-making.

Why emphasize that she is ‘adrinandinī’ (mountain’s daughter)?

The epithet anchors the narrative in sacred geography: the female agent is not merely a character but a personification/affiliate of the mountain itself, making the landscape an active participant in the tīrtha’s origin story.

What is the function of ‘rūpiṇī’ in the verse?

‘Rūpiṇī’ signals divine/numinous status and auspiciousness. In māhātmya sections, such descriptors often mark the actor as fit to generate or transmit tīrtha-power (tīrtha-śakti) through contact with the land.