Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

अनुव्रजन्ती भर्तारं गृहात्पितृवनं मुदा । पदेपदेश्वमेधस्य फलं प्राप्नोत्यसंशयम्

Transliteration

anuvrajantī bhartāraṃ gṛhātpitṛvanaṃ mudā | padepadeśvamedhasya phalaṃ prāpnotyasaṃśayam

Translation

Isteri yang dengan gembira mengikuti suaminya dari rumah menuju ‘rimba para leluhur’, pada setiap langkahnya tanpa syak memperoleh buah yajna Aśvamedha—demikian teks ini menyatakan.

Word by Word

• अनुव्रजन्ती: following (going after)
• अनुव्रजन्ती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनु- (उपसर्ग) + व्रज् (धातु) → अनुव्रजत् (कृदन्त, शतृ)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (present active participle)

• भर्तारम्: husband
• भर्तारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भर्तृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• गृहात्: from the house
• गृहात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन

• पितृवनम्: the forest of the ancestors (pitṛ-forest)
• पितृवनम्: Karma (Goal/Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पितॄणां वनम्)

• मुदा: with joy
• मुदा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुद्/मुदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; भाव-करण (with joy)

• पदे: at (each) step
• पदे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति-प्रयोगः (in each step)

• पदे: at (each) step
• पदे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (pade pade)

• अश्वमेधस्य: of the Aśvamedha sacrifice
• अश्वमेधस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व (प्रातिपदिक) + मेध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (अश्वस्य मेधः)

• फलम्: fruit/result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• प्राप्नोति: attains
• प्राप्नोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र- + आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• असंशयम्: without doubt
• असंशयम्: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अ- (निषेध) + संशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

Speaker

Deductively: Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating within Brāhma Khaṇḍa context

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pitṛvana (as invoked)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solemn procession leaving home toward a symbolic ancestral forest; the wife follows with determined serenity, each footstep visually echoed by sacrificial symbols (horse-banner, yajña-vedi) to indicate Aśvamedha-phala per step.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Aśvamedha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It magnifies pativratā devotion by equating a devoted act of accompaniment with immense sacrificial merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha is specified; ‘pitṛvana’ is a funerary/ancestral locale rather than a particular pilgrimage site in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It implies the act of accompanying the husband toward the ancestral/funerary place; the verse is laudatory rather than procedural.