Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

स्कंद उवाच । दक्षिणाब्धितटे कश्चित्सेतुबंधसमीपतः । वणिग्धनंजयो नाम मातृभक्तिसमन्वितः

Transliteration

skaṃda uvāca | dakṣiṇābdhitaṭe kaścitsetubaṃdhasamīpataḥ | vaṇigdhanaṃjayo nāma mātṛbhaktisamanvitaḥ

Translation

สกันทร์ตรัสว่า: ณ ชายฝั่งมหาสมุทรทิศใต้ ใกล้เสตุพันธะ มีพ่อค้าผู้หนึ่งชื่อธนัญชัย ผู้เปี่ยมด้วยความภักดีต่อมารดา

Word by Word

• स्कन्दः: Skanda
• स्कन्दः: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: skanda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• दक्षिणाब्धितटे: on the shore of the southern ocean
• दक्षिणाब्धितटे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + abdhi (प्रातिपदिक) + taṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: तत्पुरुष (दक्षिणे अब्धेः तटे = on the shore of the southern ocean); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• कश्चित्: a certain (person)
• कश्चित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaścit (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अनिश्चितवाचक-सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• सेतुबंधसमीपतः: near Setubandha
• सेतुबंधसमीपतः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: setu (प्रातिपदिक) + bandha (प्रातिपदिक) + samīpa (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव (समीपतः = 'from/near'); समास: सेतुबंधस्य समीपतः; अव्यय (indeclinable adverb of place)

• वणिक्: a merchant
• वणिक्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaṇij (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• धनंजयः: Dhanaṃjaya
• धनंजयः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhanaṃjaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; व्यक्तिनाम

• नाम: named
• नाम: Sambandha (Appositive marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nāma (अव्यय)
• Form: नाम-निपात (indeclinable particle indicating name)

• मातृभक्तिसमन्वितः: endowed with devotion to his mother
• मातृभक्तिसमन्वितः: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakti (प्रातिपदिक) + samanvita (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: समास: तत्पुरुष (मातृभक्त्या समन्वितः = endowed with devotion to mother); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying 'vaṇik dhanaṃjayaḥ')

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setubandha (Setu) near the southern ocean

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Skanda narrates: a coastal town by the roaring southern ocean, with the faint arc of Setubandha on the horizon; a dignified merchant Dhanaṃjaya stands with reverence toward his mother, suggesting filial devotion amid prosperity.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Setubandha (Rāmeśvaram region)
• Southern Ocean
• Dhanaṃjaya (merchant)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma honors mātṛ-bhakti as a powerful virtue that prepares one for higher spiritual grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setubandha (traditionally associated with the Rāmeśvaram/Setu region), introduced as the setting for an exemplary account.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it begins an illustrative story rooted in sacred geography.