Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

प्रणम्य च ततो देवीमानर्च वटयक्षिणीम् । पुरा यदा नारदेन कलापग्रामतो द्विजाः

Transliteration

praṇamya ca tato devīmānarca vaṭayakṣiṇīm | purā yadā nāradena kalāpagrāmato dvijāḥ

Translation

แล้วนางได้กราบนอบน้อม จากนั้นบูชาเทวีวฏยักษิณี กาลก่อน เมื่อพระนารทได้นำพราหมณ์ทั้งหลายจากหมู่บ้านชื่อกาลาปครามะมา

Word by Word

• प्रणम्य: having bowed
• प्रणम्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नम् (प्रणामे) उपसर्ग-प्र; ल्यप्
• Form: अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive); ल्यप्-प्रत्यय (having bowed)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपादान/क्रमवाचक (then, thereafter)

• देवीम्: the goddess
• देवीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन (acc. sg.)

• आनर्च: worshipped
• आनर्च: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अर्च् (पूजायाम्) उपसर्ग-आ
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परिपूर्णभूत/Perfect); प्रथम-पुरुष; एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• वटयक्षिणीम्: the banyan-tree yakṣiṇī
• वटयक्षिणीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वट (प्रातिपदिक) + यक्षिणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन (acc. sg.); वटस्य यक्षिणी (genitive tatpuruṣa)

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (adverb of time: formerly)

• यदा: when
• यदा: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक-सम्बन्ध (when)

• नारदेन: by Nārada
• नारदेन: Karana (Instrument/Agent-in-passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया-विभक्ति; एकवचन (instr. sg.)

• कलापग्रामतः: from Kalāpagrāma
• कलापग्रामतः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलापग्राम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी-विभक्ति; एकवचन (abl. sg.)

• द्विजाः: Brahmins (twice-born)
• द्विजाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्ति; बहुवचन (nom. pl.)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced from Māheśvara-khaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vaṭayakṣiṇī-sthāna (implied)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A goddess identified as Vaṭayakṣiṇī is worshipped beneath a grand banyan tree; the devotee bows, offers lamps and flowers; the scene shifts into a flashback where Nārada leads brāhmaṇas from Kalāpagrāma toward the sacred site.

Characters & Entities

• Vaṭayakṣiṇī
• Nārada
• Dvija (Brāhmaṇas)
• Devī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional humility (praṇāma) and proper worship are presented as the gateway to receiving a deity’s grace in a sacred place.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse begins the Vaṭayakṣiṇī-related sacred locale narrative; the exact tīrtha name is implied by the banyan (vaṭa) setting and is clarified in surrounding verses.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bowing (praṇāma) and worship (arcana) of Vaṭayakṣiṇī are indicated as the foundational acts.