Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

कुमारी वा सनाथा वा सुता कस्य ब्रवीहि नः

Transliteration

kumārī vā sanāthā vā sutā kasya bravīhi naḥ

Translation

നീ കുമാരിയാണോ, അല്ലെങ്കിൽ ആരുടെയെങ്കിലും സംരക്ഷണത്തിലാണോ? നീ ആരുടെ പുത്രിയാണെന്ന് ഞങ്ങളോട് പറയുക।

Word by Word

• कुमारी: a maiden/young girl
• कुमारी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुमारी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha/Particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात (disjunctive particle: “or”)

• सनाथा: having a protector/with a guardian
• सनाथा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सनाथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha/Particle (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-निपात (disjunctive particle: “or”)

• सुता: daughter
• सुता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• कस्य: of whom/whose
• कस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम (interrogative pronoun)

• ब्रवीहि: tell (me/us)
• ब्रवीहि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• नः: to us/our
• नः: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-बहुवचन-रूप (Genitive/Dative plural enclitic: “of us/to us”)

Speaker

Śakra (Indra)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group (or a single noble figure) confronts a lone maiden on a pilgrimage path/market edge, asking her status and parentage; the moment is poised, neither violent nor resolved.

Characters & Entities

• Śakra (Indra)
• Kanyakā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes social propriety—knowing a person’s protection and lineage before taking consequential action.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits inside a tīrthamāhātmya narrative; the site is not named in this line alone.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it is a dharmic inquiry preceding the intended yajña-related act.