Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

मृतवत्सा तु या नारी वन्ध्या स्त्रीजननी तथा । पुत्रं सा लभते नारी शीलवन्तं गुणान्वितम्

Transliteration

mṛtavatsā tu yā nārī vandhyā strījananī tathā | putraṃ sā labhate nārī śīlavantaṃ guṇānvitam

Translation

മകൻ മരിച്ച സ്ത്രീ, വന്ധ്യ, അല്ലെങ്കിൽ പെൺമക്കളെ മാത്രമേ പ്രസവിക്കൂ എന്ന സ്ത്രീ—അവൾ ശീലവാനും ഗുണസമ്പന്നനുമായ പുത്രനെ പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• mṛtavatsā: (a woman) whose child is dead
• mṛtavatsā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛta (कृदन्त, √mṛ) + vatsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मृतः वत्सः यस्याः सा) — adjective used substantively

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात/समुच्चयार्थ-व्यतिरेकसूचक (particle: ‘but/indeed’)

• yā: who/which (woman)
• yā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• nārī: woman
• nārī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• vandhyā: barren
• vandhyā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vandhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

• strījananī: mother of women (i.e., one who bears daughters)
• strījananī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक) + jananī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (स्त्रीणां जननी)

• tathā: also/likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb/conjunction: ‘also/likewise’)

• putram: a son
• putram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

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

• labhate: obtains
• labhate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √labh (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• nārī: the woman
• nārī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; पुनरुक्त-कर्तृनिर्देश (apposition)

• śīlavantam: virtuous
• śīlavantam: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śīlavant (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (putram)

• guṇānvitam: endowed with good qualities
• guṇānvitam: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: guṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + anvita (कृदन्त, √i/√anv-i)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; समासः तृतीया/सह-तत्पुरुषः (गुणैः अन्वितः) — ‘endowed with qualities’

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-saṅgama Devī-tīrtha (as implied by surrounding verses)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sorrowing woman (child-loss/infertility) approaches a riverside Devī shrine; after ritual bathing she receives a blessing gesture from the Goddess, symbolized by a radiant child and auspicious emblems.

Characters & Entities

• Devī (implied as grantor of boon)
• Putra-prāpti (son-blessing)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Devī’s tīrtha is praised as compassionate—removing grief and granting worthy progeny as a fruit of devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Devī-associated tīrtha introduced in Adhyāya 166 of Revā Khaṇḍa (not named in this verse).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit procedure is stated here; it is a phalaśruti (promised result) connected to the Devī’s sacred site and worship described nearby.