Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

पितरौ मम वार्द्धक्ये वर्तमानौ व्यवस्थितौ । तथा पतिव्रता पत्नी गृहधर्मविचक्षणा

Transliteration

pitarau mama vārddhakye vartamānau vyavasthitau | tathā pativratā patnī gṛhadharmavicakṣaṇā

Translation

« Mes parents sont désormais établis dans la vieillesse ; et de même, mon épouse est une pativratā, avisée et experte dans les devoirs du dharma domestique. »

Word by Word

• pitarau: (my) two parents (father and mother)
• pitarau: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, द्विवचन

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• vārddhakye: in old age
• vārddhakye: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārddhakya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• vartamānau: living; existing
• vartamānau: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vṛt (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; विशेषण (qualifying pitarau)

• vyavasthitau: situated; staying (dependent)
• vyavasthitau: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ava + sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; विशेषण

• tathā: also; likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/अव्ययार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/उपक्रमार्थक (also; likewise)

• pati-vratā: devoted to her husband
• pati-vratā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pati (प्रातिपदिक) + vratā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying patnī)

• patnī: wife
• patnī: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: patnī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• gṛha-dharma-vicakṣaṇā: skilled in household duties
• gṛha-dharma-vicakṣaṇā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक) + dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + vicakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (gṛhasya dharmaḥ; tasmin vicakṣaṇā)

Speaker

Unspecified in the given snippet (within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; likely a devotee/pilgrim narrating his circumstances in a tīrtha-related dialogue)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣayaḥ (sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A brief mental tableau: elderly parents seated, the wife attentive and composed; the speaker evokes them as the reason for his actions.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It affirms gṛhastha-dharma: caring for aged parents and honoring a spouse devoted to dharma are themselves meritorious supports to spiritual life, even within tīrtha-oriented narratives.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse alone does not name a specific tīrtha; it appears as contextual self-description within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual (snāna, dāna, japa, vrata) is stated in this line; it highlights ethical and domestic obligations (pitr̥-sevā and gṛhadharma) as the immediate theme.