Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

उदिता तनया चैवं जनन्या तां प्रणम्य सा । स्वीकृत्य माहिषं रूपं वनं पञ्चाग्निमध्यगा

Transliteration

uditā tanayā caivaṃ jananyā tāṃ praṇamya sā | svīkṛtya māhiṣaṃ rūpaṃ vanaṃ pañcāgnimadhyagā

Translation

Setelah diajar demikian, si puteri menunduk sujud kepada ibunya. Lalu mengambil rupa kerbau, dia memasuki hutan dan menjalani laku yang dahsyat dengan berdiri di tengah lima api (pañcāgni).

Word by Word

• उदिता: having spoken/declared
• उदिता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उद् + इ (धातु) → उदित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; “arisen/said” (contextual: “having spoken/said” is more often उक्ता; here “udita” = “uttered/declared”)

• तनया: the daughter
• तनया: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तनया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; “daughter”

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारार्थक-अव्यय (adverb: “thus”)

• जनन्या: by the mother
• जनन्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जननी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; instrumental “by/with the mother”

• ताम्: her
• ताम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; pronoun “her”

• प्रणम्य: having bowed to
• प्रणम्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + नम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive), “having bowed”

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; “she”

• स्वीकृत्य: having assumed
• स्वीकृत्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्वी + कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त; “having assumed/taken up”

• माहिषम्: buffalo-like
• माहिषम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: माहिष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; qualifies “रूपम्”

• रूपम्: form
• रूपम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• वनम्: to the forest
• वनम्: Gati/Karman (Goal as object/गति-कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; destination as object of motion (to the forest)

• पञ्चाग्निमध्यगा: entered the midst of five fires
• पञ्चाग्निमध्यगा: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक) + मध्य (प्रातिपदिक) + गा (धातु √गम्/√गा)
• Form: समासः—तत्पुरुषः (पञ्चानाम् अग्नीनां मध्ये), ‘मध्य’ उपपद; ‘गा’ = गत (स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन) कृदन्त-रूपेण “gone/entered”; अर्थः—पञ्चाग्निमध्ये गता

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (narrative voice within Setukhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setu-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (frame implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The daughter bows to her mother, then transforms into a buffalo-form and enters a forest clearing where four fires burn around her with the sun overhead as the fifth fire; she stands steadfast amid heat and smoke.

Characters & Entities

• Mother
• Daughter
• Pañcāgni-tapas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Penance in the Purāṇas is portrayed as total commitment—humility, obedience to elders, and readiness for hardship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not explicitly named in this verse; it occurs within Setukhaṇḍa’s sacred-geography frame around Setu.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pañcāgni-tapas: a rigorous observance involving heat austerity, symbolizing extreme endurance and resolve.