Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

जातमात्रेण बालेन मया पादौ निरीक्षितौ । तातस्य सहसा दग्धौ ततोऽहं वारितोंऽबया

Transliteration

jātamātreṇa bālena mayā pādau nirīkṣitau | tātasya sahasā dagdhau tato'haṃ vāritoṃ'bayā

Translation

நான் புதிதாய் பிறந்த குழந்தையாய் இருந்தபோது தந்தையின் பாதங்களைப் பார்த்தேன்; உடனே அவை எரிந்தன; பின்னர் தாய் என்னைத் தடுத்தாள்.

Word by Word

• jāta-mātreṇa: by/when (I was) just born
• jāta-mātreṇa: Karana (Instrument/condition)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jāta (jan धातु, क्त) + mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (जातं मात्रम् = ‘just born’)

• bālena: by a child (me), as a child
• bālena: Karana (Instrument; ‘as a child’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Kartr̥ (Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया, एकवचन

• pādau: (his) two feet
• pādau: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), द्विवचन

• nirīkṣitau: looked at
• nirīkṣitau: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-īkṣ (ईक्ष् धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय (past passive participle) ‘निरीक्षित’, पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, द्विवचन; (pādau) विशेषण

• tātasya: of (my) father
• tātasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• sahasā: suddenly
• sahasā: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sahasā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: suddenly/at once)

• dagdhau: were burnt
• dagdhau: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dah (दह् धातु)
• Form: दग्ध (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; (pādau) विशेषण

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (then/thereupon; ablatival adverb)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vāritaḥ: was restrained, was stopped
• vāritaḥ: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vṛ (वृ धातु)
• Form: वारित (णिच् causative √vṛ ‘to restrain’ + क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense)

• ambayā: by (my) mother
• ambayā: Karana (Agent-instrument in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ambā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन

Speaker

Śani

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: bhūpāla (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A newborn child’s glance burns the father’s feet; the mother urgently intervenes, embodying protective compassion amid a flash of fiery tejas.

Characters & Entities

• Śani

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Innate power requires guidance; maternal counsel becomes a safeguard against harm to others.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No location is named; it is a mythic backstory embedded within the Mahātmya discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it recounts an incident establishing the danger of Śani’s glance.