Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

जातमात्रं च तं गर्भं गृहीत्वा ब्राह्मणी च सा । अश्वत्थच्छायामाश्रित्य तमुत्सृज्य वचोऽब्रवीत्

Transliteration

jātamātraṃ ca taṃ garbhaṃ gṛhītvā brāhmaṇī ca sā | aśvatthacchāyāmāśritya tamutsṛjya vaco'bravīt

Translation

ครั้นทารกเพิ่งถือกำเนิด นางพราหมณีก็อุ้มทารกนั้นไว้ แล้วไปอาศัยร่มเงาแห่งต้นอัศวัตถะ วางเขาลง ณ ที่นั้น และกล่าววาจาดังนี้

Word by Word

• जातमात्रम्: just-born
• जातमात्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जात (कृदन्त, √जन्) + मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण—‘अल्पकालपूर्वं जातम्’ (just-born)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• तम्: that (him/it)
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• गर्भम्: infant/foetus (child)
• गर्भम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• गृहीत्वा: having taken
• गृहीत्वा: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive); ‘गृहित्वा’ = having taken

• ब्राह्मणी: the Brahmin woman
• ब्राह्मणी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अश्वत्थच्छायाम्: the shade of an aśvattha tree
• अश्वत्थच्छायाम्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वत्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + छाया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—अश्वत्थस्य छाया (shade of the aśvattha tree)

• आश्रित्य: having taken shelter (in)
• आश्रित्य: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √श्रि (धातु) उपसर्गः आ-
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund); ‘आश्रित्य’ = having resorted to/taken shelter in

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• उत्सृज्य: having abandoned
• उत्सृज्य: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √सृज् (धातु) उपसर्गः उत्-
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund); ‘उत्सृज्य’ = having abandoned/left

• वचः: words/speech
• वचः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वचस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; ‘वचः’ (speech/words)

• अब्रवीत्: said/spoke
• अब्रवीत्: Kriya (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ब्रू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Narrator (contextual, not explicit in verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpasattama (a king addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A brāhmaṇī, exhausted from childbirth, carries a newborn to an aśvattha tree by a riverbank; she sets the infant on the ground in the tree’s shade and begins a solemn utterance, the landscape quiet and expectant.

Characters & Entities

• Aśvattha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic narratives often place critical acts beneath sacred trees, signaling reliance on dharma, nature, and divine guardianship in moments of human limitation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the sacred element highlighted is the aśvattha tree within the Revā-khaṇḍa milieu.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No formal rite is prescribed; taking shelter under an aśvattha reflects sacred custom and devotional ecology.