Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

किं गोत्रः कतमस्तस्याः पिता किंप्रवरः स्मृतः । एवं तस्यान्वयं ज्ञात्वा गोत्रप्रवरसंयुतम्

Transliteration

kiṃ gotraḥ katamastasyāḥ pitā kiṃpravaraḥ smṛtaḥ | evaṃ tasyānvayaṃ jñātvā gotrapravarasaṃyutam

Translation

‘ତାହାର ଗୋତ୍ର କ’ଣ? ତାହାର ପିତା ଭାବେ କିଏ ଗଣ୍ୟ? ତାହାର ପ୍ରବର କେଉଁଟି ସ୍ମରଣୀୟ?’—ଏପରି ଗୋତ୍ର-ପ୍ରବର ସହିତ ବଂଶ ଜାଣି, ପରେ ଶୁଦ୍ଧିକର୍ମ ଆରମ୍ଭ କରିବା ଉଚିତ।

Word by Word

• kim: what
• kim: Viśeṣaṇa (Interrogative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचकं (गोत्रस्य विशेषणम्)

• gotraḥ: clan/gotra
• gotraḥ: Viṣaya (Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gotra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• katamaḥ: which (one)
• katamaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Interrogative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: katama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-विशेषणम् (गोत्रः)

• tasyāḥ: of her
• tasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• pitā: father
• pitā: Viṣaya (Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kim-pravaraḥ: of what pravara (lineage)
• kim-pravaraḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Interrogative)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + pravara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘कः प्रवरः’ (interrogative)

• smṛtaḥ: is stated/known as
• smṛtaḥ: Kriyā (Predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘is said/considered’

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण)

• tasya: of him/of that person
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• anvayam: lineage/descent
• anvayam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anvaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• jñātvā: having known
• jñātvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jñā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund)

• gotra-pravara-saṃyutam: endowed with gotra and pravara
• gotra-pravara-saṃyutam: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gotra (प्रातिपदिक) + pravara (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃyuta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘गोत्रप्रवराभ्यां संयुतम्’ (endowed with gotra and pravara); विशेषणम् (अन्वयम्)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya instructional tone; exact interlocutors not in snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A brāhmaṇa officiant points to a palm-leaf genealogy list; the inquirer asks about gotra and pravara; witnesses sit behind; a sacred fire is prepared but not yet lit, indicating rites await verification.

Characters & Entities

• gotra
• pravara
• pitā (father)
• anvaya (lineage)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity-rites should rest on truthfulness and proper lineage-knowledge, aligning ritual action with dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is part of the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya framework, but no single named tīrtha appears in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A preliminary prescription: inquire into and confirm gotra, father, and pravara before conducting śuddhi (purificatory) rites.