Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 13
धन्योऽयं तनयो ह्यस्याः शुश्रूषां कुरुते सदा । पुत्रयुक्ता त्वियं धन्या धिगहं पुत्रवर्जिता
dhanyo'yaṃ tanayo hyasyāḥ śuśrūṣāṃ kurute sadā | putrayuktā tviyaṃ dhanyā dhigahaṃ putravarjitā
Berbahagialah anak lelakinya itu, kerana sentiasa berbakti melayani ibunya. Berbahagialah wanita ini, dikurniai seorang anak—malangnya aku, yang terhijab daripada zuriat!
Gautamī (the chaste woman, speaking in lament)
Tirtha: Arbuda-kṣetra (contextual)
Type: kshetra
Listener: A king (nṛpasattama)
Scene: Gautamī observes a devoted son serving his mother; she praises them, then turns inward with self-reproach for her childlessness.
FAQs
It praises filial service (śuśrūṣā) as a visible sign of dharma and reveals how human longing (for progeny) can become the motive that draws one toward a tīrtha’s grace.
The verse occurs within the Arbuda Khaṇḍa setting, where the greatness of a local tīrtha is being unfolded through Gautamī’s experience (the specific water-tīrtha is clarified in the surrounding verses).
No direct ritual is prescribed here; it is a reflective statement highlighting the dharma of service and the pain of childlessness.