Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 58

Devanagari script

अपश्चिममिदं पुत्र दुर्लभं मातृदर्शनम् । मयाऽद्य पुत्र गंतव्यं शपथैरागता यतः

Transliteration

apaścimamidaṃ putra durlabhaṃ mātṛdarśanam | mayā'dya putra gaṃtavyaṃ śapathairāgatā yataḥ

Translation

पुत्रा, हे मातृदर्शन असमयी व दुर्मिळ आहे. तरी आज मला निघावेच लागेल, कारण मी शपथांनी बांधून आले आहे.

Word by Word

• apaścimam: not to be repeated/last (lit. not later)
• apaścimam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: apaścima (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

• idam: this
• idam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• putra: O son
• putra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• durlabham: rare/difficult to obtain
• durlabham: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durlabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

• mātṛ-darśanam: seeing of the mother/mother’s sight
• mātṛ-darśanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + darśana (प्रातिपदिक; √dṛś धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मातुः दर्शनम्)

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• adya: today
• adya: Kālādhi karaṇa (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (today)

• putra: O son
• putra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• gantavyam: (it is) to be gone / I must go
• gantavyam: Kriyā (Obligation/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √gam (धातु)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive/obligatory), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘गन्तव्यम्’ = must be gone

• śapathaiḥ: by oaths
• śapathaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śapatha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• āgatā: having come
• āgatā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-√gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• yataḥ: because/since
• yataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थक-सम्बन्ध (because/since)

Speaker

Mother (unnamed, speaking to her son Vatsa)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Vatsa

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kapilā tells her son their meeting is rare and untimely; her posture turns toward departure, eyes moist, hand raised in a gentle but firm gesture of necessity.

Characters & Entities

• Vatsa
• Mother

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma requires steadfastness to one’s vows even when the heart is pulled by family affection.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse occurs in the Arbudakhaṇḍa (Mount Abu region) within the Prabhāsakhaṇḍa, a sacred-geography setting rather than a single named tīrtha in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed here; the focus is on śapatha (vow/oath) as an ethical commitment.