Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 46

Devanagari script

सुपर्ण उवाच । प्रातःप्रातरहो मातः क्व यासि त्वं दिनेदिने । सायमायासि च कुतो विच्छाया दीनमानसा

Transliteration

suparṇa uvāca | prātaḥprātaraho mātaḥ kva yāsi tvaṃ dinedine | sāyamāyāsi ca kuto vicchāyā dīnamānasā

Translation

「スパルナは言った。『母上よ、毎朝――ああ母上――あなたは日ごとにどこへ行かれるのですか。夕べにはどこから戻られ、光を失い、心重くしておられるのですか。』」

Word by Word

• suparṇaḥ: Suparṇa
• suparṇaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: suparṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Verb/action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• prātaḥ: in the morning
• prātaḥ: Kālādhi karaṇa (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prātaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (in the morning)

• prātaḥ: morning after morning
• prātaḥ: Kālādhi karaṇa (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prātaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (repetition for emphasis)

• aho: alas!; oh!
• aho: Sambandha (Exclamation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: aho (अव्यय)
• Form: विस्मय/सम्बोधन-निपात (exclamatory particle)

• mātaḥ: O mother
• mātaḥ: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• kva: where
• kva: Adhikaraṇa (Interrogative location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kva (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb of place)

• yāsi: do you go
• yāsi: Kriyā (Verb/action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd), एकवचन

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तम? (actually 2nd person pronoun), प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• dine: in the day
• dine: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dina (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• dine: day after day
• dine: Adhikaraṇa (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dina (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (each day)

• sāyam: in the evening
• sāyam: Kālādhi karaṇa (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sāyam (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (in the evening)

• āyāsi: you come
• āyāsi: Kriyā (Verb/action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु) + ā उपसर्ग
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• kutaḥ: from where; why
• kutaḥ: Apādāna (Source/why)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kutaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक-अव्यय (interrogative: from where/why)

• vicchāyā: lusterless
• vicchāyā: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-cchāyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• dīna-mānasā: with a dejected mind
• dīna-mānasā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of mother)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dīna (प्रातिपदिक) + mānasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (दीनं मानसं यस्याः)

Speaker

Suparṇa (Garuḍa)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Vinatā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Garuḍa speaks to Vinatā at dawn: ‘Where do you go each morning? From where do you return at evening, dim and sorrowful?’ The light of morning contrasts with her faded aura.

Characters & Entities

• Suparṇa (Garuḍa)
• Vinatā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It models attentive filial duty—asking, noticing, and seeking to remove a parent’s hidden suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it is part of the Kāśī Khaṇḍa’s broader sacred narration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a conversational inquiry.