Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

पुत्रहीना च या नारी काकवन्ध्या च या भवेत् । विधवा या करोत्येतद्व्रतमेवं समाहिता । तस्यास्तुष्टो जगन्नाथः कायशुद्धिं प्रयच्छति

Transliteration

putrahīnā ca yā nārī kākavandhyā ca yā bhavet | vidhavā yā karotyetadvratamevaṃ samāhitā | tasyāstuṣṭo jagannāthaḥ kāyaśuddhiṃ prayacchati

Translation

สตรีผู้ไร้บุตร หรือผู้เป็น ‘กากวันธยา’ (ปราศจากบุตรที่มีชีวิต) หรือหญิงหม้าย หากนางประกอบวรตนี้ด้วยความตั้งใจแน่วแน่ดังนี้ พระชคันนาถเมื่อทรงพอพระทัยแล้ว ย่อมประทานความบริสุทธิ์แห่งกายให้แก่นาง

Word by Word

• putra-hīnā: without a son
• putra-hīnā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक) + hīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (and)

• yā: who (she)
• yā: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम

• nārī: woman
• nārī: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• kāka-vandhyā: barren (lit. ‘crow-barren’, utterly infertile)
• kāka-vandhyā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāka (प्रातिपदिक) + vandhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• yā: who (she)
• yā: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• bhavet: may be / should be
• bhavet: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• vidhavā: widow
• vidhavā: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidhavā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• yā: who (she)
• yā: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• karoti: does/performs
• karoti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• etat: this
• etat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (एतद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• vratam: vow/observance
• vratam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vrata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• evaṃ: thus
• evaṃ: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evaṃ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (thus/in this manner)

• samāhitā: composed/attentive
• samāhitā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ā-dhā (सम्+आ+धा धातु) → samāhita (क्त-कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (settled/collected, attentive)

• tasyāḥ: of her
• tasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (तद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• tuṣṭaḥ: pleased
• tuṣṭaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tuṣ (तुष् धातु) → tuṣṭa (क्त-कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त

• jagannāthaḥ: Lord of the world
• jagannāthaḥ: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक) + nātha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• kāya-śuddhim: purity of the body
• kāya-śuddhim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāya (प्रातिपदिक) + śuddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• prayacchati: grants/bestows
• prayacchati: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√yam (प्र+यम् धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice within the Jalaśāyī-upākhyāna)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A widowed or grieving woman, modestly dressed, performs the vow with focused devotion before Jagannātha/Nārāyaṇa; a soft aura of purification surrounds her body, signifying kāya-śuddhi.

Characters & Entities

• Jagannātha (Lord of the world)
• Aśūnyaśayana (Vrata)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

No social condition blocks grace: sincere vrata-observance invites the Lord’s compassion and purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The vow is praised within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya (Nāgara Khaṇḍa) setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Women in various life circumstances are explicitly included as eligible to perform the Aśūnyaśayana-vrata with samādhāna (focused intent).