Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

तत्र जातं तु तद्दृष्ट्वा सर्वे देवाः सवासवाः । कृत्तिकां प्रेषयामासुः स्तन्यं पाययितुं तदा

Transliteration

tatra jātaṃ tu taddṛṣṭvā sarve devāḥ savāsavāḥ | kṛttikāṃ preṣayāmāsuḥ stanyaṃ pāyayituṃ tadā

Translation

Voyant l’enfant né en ce lieu, tous les dieux—avec Indra—envoyèrent alors les Kṛttikās afin de le nourrir de leur lait.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देश-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• जातम्: the one that was born/produced
• जातम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (Past Passive Participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अन्वय-अव्यय (particle)

• तत्: that (it)
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय-क्रियाविशेषण (Gerund/Absolutive)

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• देवाः: gods
• देवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• सवासवाः: together with Vāsava (Indra)
• सवासवाः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स-वासव (प्रातिपदिक; स + वासव)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (सहितार्थक: 'with')

• कृत्तिकाम्: Kṛttikā (the Pleiades/nymphs)
• कृत्तिकाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृत्तिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• प्रेषयामासुः: sent/dispatched
• प्रेषयामासुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-इष्/प्रेष् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; णिच्-प्रयोग (causative sense: 'caused to be sent')

• स्तन्यम्: milk
• स्तन्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्तन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• पाययितुम्: to make (him) drink/to feed
• पाययितुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त infinitive; णिच् (causative) रूप: पाययितुम् = 'to cause to drink'

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: काल-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced: Āvantya Khaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śaravana/Śara-stamba (Skanda-janma locus)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The devas with Indra behold the newborn child in the reed-bed; they summon the six Kṛttikās, who arrive to nurse him, forming the iconic six-mother tableau.

Characters & Entities

• Devas
• Indra (Vāsava)
• Kṛttikās
• Kumāra/Skanda (newborn)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The divine community safeguards dharma by nurturing the one destined to protect the worlds—care and responsibility are sacred duties.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The sacred birthplace-setting connected to Gaṅgā and the śara-stamba is highlighted as a divinely chosen locus for manifestation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal rite; the verse depicts sacred nurturing (stanya-pāna) as part of divine order and auspicious beginnings.