Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

ततः स क्षुत्परीतांगः पिता तस्य महीपतेः । स्वप्ने प्रोवाच तं पुत्रमतीव मलिनांबरः

Transliteration

tataḥ sa kṣutparītāṃgaḥ pitā tasya mahīpateḥ | svapne provāca taṃ putramatīva malināṃbaraḥ

Translation

అప్పుడు ఆ రాజు తండ్రి—ఆకలితో క్షీణించిన శరీరంతో, అత్యంత మలిన వస్త్రాలతో—స్వప్నంలో తన కుమారునితో పలికాడు.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Avyaya (Connector/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्/ततः (then/thereupon)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन; nominative singular masculine

• kṣutparītāṅgaḥ: whose limbs were overcome by hunger
• kṣutparītāṅgaḥ: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣut-parīta-aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; nominative singular masculine; विशेषण (पिता); समास: तत्पुरुष (क्षुधया परीतानि अङ्गानि यस्य)

• pitā: father
• pitā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन; nominative singular masculine

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; genitive singular

• mahīpateḥ: of the king
• mahīpateḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahī-pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; genitive singular masculine; समास: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (महीः पतिः)

• svapne: in a dream
• svapne: Adhikarana (Location/State-आधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svapna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; locative singular masculine

• provāca: said, spoke
• provāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; parasmaipada; 3rd sg perfect; उपसर्ग: प्र

• tam: to him, that (person)
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; accusative singular masculine

• putram: son
• putram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; accusative singular masculine; apposition to tam

• atīva: exceedingly, very
• atīva: Avyaya (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atīva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तीव्रतावाचक (very, exceedingly)

• malināṃbaraḥ: wearing dirty garments
• malināṃbaraḥ: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: malina-ambara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; nominative singular masculine; विशेषण (पिता); समास: कर्मधारय (मलिनम् अम्बरम् यस्य/मलिन-अम्बरः)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa addressing sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night scene: the king asleep; in the dream-space his father appears emaciated, hungry, in soiled garments, speaking urgently—half-lit by a dim lamp, with a liminal, otherworldly aura.

Characters & Entities

• king
• king’s father (pitṛ)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Neglect (or inability) to sustain ancestors through proper offerings is depicted as causing suffering even beyond death, urging timely pitṛ rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; the tīrtha setting is implicit within the chapter’s Māhātmya framework.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied: the need for offerings to ancestors; the explicit request appears in the next verse.