Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

प्रवर्त्तंते हि मासेषु चतुर्षु च न संशयः । चातुर्मास्ये देवपत्न्यः सर्वा वल्लीसमाश्रि ताः

Transliteration

pravarttaṃte hi māseṣu caturṣu ca na saṃśayaḥ | cāturmāsye devapatnyaḥ sarvā vallīsamāśri tāḥ

Translation

சந்தேகமின்றி நான்கு மாதங்களில் இவ்வழிபாட்டு நியமங்கள் சிறப்பாகச் செயல்படும்; சாத்துர்மாஸ்யத்தில் தேவபத்னிகள் அனைவரும் கொடிகளிலும் வள்ளிகளிலும் தங்குகின்றனர் என்று கூறப்படுகிறது।

Word by Word

• प्रवर्तन्ते: they proceed/occur
• प्रवर्तन्ते: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र√वृत् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम् (plural), आत्मनेपदम् (Ātmanepada)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपातः (particle), अवधानार्थ/हेतौ (indeed/for)

• मासेषु: in the months
• मासेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः (masc.), सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative/7th), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• चतुर्षु: in four
• चतुर्षु: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे (masc. agreeing with मासेषु), सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative/7th), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्ययम् (negation particle)

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः (masc.), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (singular)

• चातुर्मास्ये: in the Cāturmāsya (four-month period)
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (neut.), सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative/7th), एकवचनम् (singular)

• देवपत्न्यः: the wives of the gods
• देवपत्न्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवपत्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः (fem.), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• सर्वाः: all
• सर्वाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः (fem.), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• वल्ली-समाश्रिताः: having taken refuge in creepers
• वल्ली-समाश्रिताः: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वल्ली (प्रातिपदिक) + सम्-आ-√श्रि (धातु) → समाश्रित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत्-प्रत्ययान्तः (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्गे (fem. agreeing with देवपत्न्यः), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; समासः: वल्लीं समाश्रिताः (those who have resorted to creepers)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Cāturmāsya-activated vṛkṣa/latā-kṣetra (within the Pippala grove)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Monsoon-season grove: vines heavy with rain; women devotees offer lamps and flowers to creepers; subtle presence of devapatnīs shimmering within the foliage; a calendar-like emphasis on four sacred months.

Characters & Entities

• Cāturmāsya
• Devapatnīs (wives of the gods)
• Vallīs (creepers/vines)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cāturmāsya is presented as a heightened sacred season when devotion expressed through nature (vines/creepers) becomes especially potent.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage frames the sacred ecology (trees and vines) within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa tīrtha setting rather than naming a single city-tīrtha in these lines.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Observance of Cāturmāsya and honoring sacred vegetation (especially vines) as divine abodes is implied.