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

Wanita yang kehilangan anak, wanita mandul, dan juga yang hanya melahirkan anak perempuan—dia memperoleh seorang putera yang berakhlak mulia serta dihiasi segala sifat yang baik.

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.