Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

आवाभ्यां संप्रविष्टाभ्यां वह्नौ पुत्र ततस्तदा । मौंजीहोमस्त्वया कार्यो मां तातं यदि मन्यसे

Transliteration

āvābhyāṃ saṃpraviṣṭābhyāṃ vahnau putra tatastadā | mauṃjīhomastvayā kāryo māṃ tātaṃ yadi manyase

Translation

“โอ้บุตรเอ๋ย เมื่อเราสองคนได้เข้าสู่กองไฟแล้ว ในกาลนั้นเจ้าพึงประกอบพิธีมอญชี-โหมะ หากเจ้ายังนับถือเรากับบิดาของเจ้าเป็นผู้ควรแก่หน้าที่ของเจ้า”

Word by Word

• āvābhyām: by us two
• āvābhyām: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-द्विवचन-प्रयोगः, तृतीया (3), द्विवचन; ‘आवाम्’ (we two)

• saṃpraviṣṭābhyām: having entered
• saṃpraviṣṭābhyām: Karta (Agent qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-viś (धातु) उपसर्गौ सम्+प्र + kta (कृत्)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त), भूतकृत; तृतीया (3), द्विवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग-सामान्यरूपेण (द्विवचन)

• vahnau: into the fire
• vahnau: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vahni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• putra: O son
• putra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय/तद्-तसिल्)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb); तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त; क्रम/अनन्तरार्थे

• tadā: at that time
• tadā: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• mauṃjī-homaḥ: the mauñjī-homa (rite)
• mauṃjī-homaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mauṃjī (प्रातिपदिक) + homa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (मौञ्ज्याः होमः / मौञ्जी-सम्बद्धः होमः)

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; करण/कर्तृ-सम्बन्धे

• kāryaḥ: to be done/should be performed
• kāryaḥ: Kriya (Obligation predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛ (धातु) + यत् (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (यत्-प्रत्ययान्त), विधेय/कर्तव्य (gerundive); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• tātam: father
• tātam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; ‘father’ अर्थे

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्धबोधक-अव्यय; शर्तार्थक (conditional conjunction)

• manyase: you think/consider
• manyase: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: man (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

Speaker

The wife (addressing her son), as reported by Sūta

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: the son

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Parents step into a blazing sacrificial fire; the son stands nearby holding kuśa/mauñjī, preparing for homa; atmosphere charged with grief and duty.

Characters & Entities

• son
• mother
• father
• fire (vahni)
• mauñjī-homa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual duty is invoked, but the narrative context warns that dharma must be aligned with true expiation and sacred means of purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader passage glorifies the purifying potency of Viṣṇupadī Gaṅgā in this kṣetra as the dharmic remedy.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A mauñjī-homa is explicitly requested to be performed by the son after the parents’ intended entry into fire.