Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

याऽनुगच्छति भर्तारं मृतं सुतपसा द्विज । साध्वी सा हि परिज्ञेया तया चोद्ध्रियते कुलम्

Transliteration

yā'nugacchati bhartāraṃ mṛtaṃ sutapasā dvija | sādhvī sā hi parijñeyā tayā coddhriyate kulam

Translation

Oh, dos veces nacido: la mujer que, por austera fidelidad, sigue a su esposo aun después de su muerte, debe ser conocida como verdadera sādhvī (virtuosa); y por ella se eleva y ennoblece el linaje familiar.

Word by Word

• yā: she who
• yā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-यत् (relative pronoun)

• anugacchati: follows
• anugacchati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu√gam (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• bhartāram: husband
• bhartāram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhartṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• mṛtam: dead
• mṛtam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √mṛ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle)

• su-tapasā: by good austerity
• su-tapasā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: su + tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः—सु (उपसर्ग/उपपद) + तपस्

• dvija: O twice-born (brahmin)
• dvija: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• sādhvī: a virtuous woman
• sādhvī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sādhvī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अव्यय; बलार्थ/हेतौ

• parijñeyā: to be recognized (as)
• parijñeyā: Vidheyavisheshana (Predicative qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pari√jñā (कृदन्त; -tavya/gerundive sense)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विधिलिङ्गार्थक-भाव्य (gerundive: ‘to be known/recognized’)

• tayā: by her
• tayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• uddhriyate: is uplifted/saved
• uddhriyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud√hṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

• kulam: the family/lineage
• kulam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative voice addressing a dvija)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solemn cremation-ground edge or memorial setting: a widow in austere white, hands in añjali, performing intense tapas; ancestral figures or a luminous family-tree motif rises upward, symbolizing kula-uddhāra.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steadfast virtue (tapas rooted in fidelity) is praised as spiritually powerful and beneficial to one’s lineage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears in this verse; it is a dharmic teaching embedded within a pilgrimage-mahātmya chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is described; the verse extols tapas (austerity/discipline) as the operative spiritual force.