Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 72

Devanagari script

ततस्ताः मातरः सर्वाः प्रणिपत्य पितामहम् । तदनन्तरमेवाथ गायत्रीं भक्तिपूर्वकम्

Transliteration

tatastāḥ mātaraḥ sarvāḥ praṇipatya pitāmaham | tadanantaramevātha gāyatrīṃ bhaktipūrvakam

Translation

Alors toutes ces Mères divines se prosternèrent devant Pitāmaha (Brahmā). Aussitôt après, avec dévotion, elles s’approchèrent et rendirent hommage à Gāyatrī.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रमवाचक/हेतुवाचक-अव्यय (then/thereafter)

• tāḥ: they (those women)
• tāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• mātaraḥ: mothers
• mātaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (मातृ प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• sarvāḥ: all
• sarvāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (सर्व-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (mātaraḥ)

• praṇipatya: having bowed down
• praṇipatya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-ṇi-pat (प्रणि√पत् धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund)

• pitāmaham: the grandsire (Brahmā)
• pitāmaham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• tad: that
• tad: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘अनन्तरम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषण (that)

• anantaram: immediately after
• anantaram: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anantara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाववत् क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण (adverbial accusative)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha-bodhaka (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphasis)

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अनन्तर्यसूचक निपात (then/and)

• gāyatrīm: the Gāyatrī (mantra)
• gāyatrīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gāyatrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• bhakti-pūrvakam: with devotion
• bhakti-pūrvakam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Manner/रीति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक) + pūrvaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमास; क्रियाविशेषण (manner adverb)

Speaker

Narrator (within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; exact interlocutors not present in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A circle of Divine Mothers (Mātaraḥ) bowing to four-faced Brahmā, then turning with folded hands toward a radiant personified Gāyatrī, embodying mantra-śakti.

Characters & Entities

• Pitāmaha (Brahmā)
• Gāyatrī
• Mātaraḥ (Divine Mothers)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion is shown through humility—first bowing to Brahmā, then reverently honoring Gāyatrī as a sacred power guiding dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader passage belongs to the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya and moves within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra setting (explicitly named later in the sequence).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An act of reverence—praṇipāta (prostration/bowing) and devotional honoring of Gāyatrī.