Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

आहितं च ततो गर्भं वरांगी वरवर्णिनी । पूर्णं वर्षसहस्रं तु दधारोदर एव हि

Transliteration

āhitaṃ ca tato garbhaṃ varāṃgī varavarṇinī | pūrṇaṃ varṣasahasraṃ tu dadhārodara eva hi

Translation

Pagkaraan nito, ang babaeng may magandang pangangatawan at marikit na kutis ay naglihi. Tunay nga, dinala niya ang sanggol sa kanyang sinapupunan sa loob ng ganap na isang libong taon.

Word by Word

• āhitam: implanted, placed
• āhitam: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhā (धा धातु) + ā- (उपसर्ग) + kta (क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘placed/implanted’ (garbham)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (च अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Sequence marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (ततः अव्यय)
• Form: क्रम/अपादानार्थक-अव्यय (then/from that)

• garbham: the embryo
• garbham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: garbha (गर्भ प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• varāṃgī: the woman with beautiful limbs
• varāṃgī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (वर) + aṅgī (अङ्गी) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (yasyaḥ varāṇi aṅgāni sā)

• vara-varṇinī: of excellent complexion
• vara-varṇinī: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vara (वर) + varṇinī (वर्णिनी) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (varaḥ varṇaḥ yasyāḥ)

• pūrṇam: complete, full
• pūrṇam: Karma (Extent/परिमाण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrṇa (पूर्ण प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; कालपरिमाण-विशेषण

• varṣa-sahasram: a thousand years
• varṣa-sahasram: Karma (Extent of time/कालपरिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (वर्ष) + sahasra (सहस्र) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (varṣāṇāṃ sahasram)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (तु अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्ध/विरोधसूचक-अव्यय (particle)

• dadhāra: bore, carried
• dadhāra: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhṛ (धृ धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• udare: in (her) belly
• udare: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: udara (उदर प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (एव अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• hi: for, indeed
• hi: Hetu (Reason marker/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (हि अव्यय)
• Form: हेतौ/निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (particle: for/indeed)

Speaker

Narrator (Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa tradition)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The queen—fair-limbed and radiant—conceives and bears the embryo for a thousand years, suggesting a luminous womb-symbolism and the slow turning of cosmic time.

Characters & Entities

• Varāṅgī (the queen/mother figure)
• Garbha (pregnancy)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic time expands to signal karmic magnitude—extraordinary births are framed as cosmic events, not merely biological ones.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No holy site is mentioned in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a descriptive account of conception and prolonged gestation.