Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

नास्ति मातृसमः पूज्यो नास्ति मातृसमः सखा । नास्ति मातृसमो देव इह लोके परत्र च

Transliteration

nāsti mātṛsamaḥ pūjyo nāsti mātṛsamaḥ sakhā | nāsti mātṛsamo deva iha loke paratra ca

Translation

తల్లితో సమానంగా పూజ్యుడు ఎవడూ లేడు, తల్లితో సమానంగా స్నేహితుడు ఎవడూ లేడు. ఇహలోకములోనూ పరలోకములోనూ తల్లితో సమానమైన దేవుడు కూడా లేడు.

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• asti: exists/is
• asti: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

• mātṛ-samaḥ: equal to a mother
• mātṛ-samaḥ: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mātṛ (मातृ प्रातिपदिक) + sama (सम प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (मातृसदृशः)

• pūjyaḥ: worthy of worship
• pūjyaḥ: Visheshya (Predicate complement/विशेष्य)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūjya (पूज्य प्रातिपदिक; √pūj (पूज्) से)
• Form: कृदन्त (तव्यत्/यत्-प्रत्ययार्थक), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• asti: exists/is
• asti: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: लट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• mātṛ-samaḥ: equal to a mother
• mātṛ-samaḥ: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mātṛ (मातृ) + sama (सम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः

• sakhā: friend
• sakhā: Visheshya (Predicate noun/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sakhā (सखा प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• asti: exists/is
• asti: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: लट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• mātṛ-samaḥ: equal to a mother
• mātṛ-samaḥ: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mātṛ (मातृ) + sama (सम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः

• devaḥ: god/divine being
• devaḥ: Visheshya (Predicate noun/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (देव प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• iha: here
• iha: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• loke: in the world
• loke: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (लोक प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• paratra: in the hereafter
• paratra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: paratra (अव्यय)
• Form: देश/कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: in the other world/afterwards)

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

Speaker

Narrator (contextual teaching within the dialogue)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: a son with folded hands before his mother; the mother seated, serene, radiating a divine aura; subtle suggestion that she is ‘deva’ in human form.

Characters & Entities

• Mother (Mātā)
• Deva (as comparison)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It elevates mātṛ-pūjā (honoring the mother) to a form of divine worship, extending its significance to both worldly welfare and afterlife merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it provides universal dharma within a pilgrimage-themed chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, worship and reverence of the mother (mātṛ-pūjā), though no formal procedure is detailed.