Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

आद्यस्य वत्ससंज्ञस्य नाम उच्चार्य गोत्रजम् । ततो नामानि चाप्येवं कीर्तयिष्यंति भक्तितः

Transliteration

ādyasya vatsasaṃjñasya nāma uccārya gotrajam | tato nāmāni cāpyevaṃ kīrtayiṣyaṃti bhaktitaḥ

Translation

سب سے پہلے وہ ‘وتس’ کے نام سے موسوم اولین جدّ کا نام، گوتر کے نام کے ساتھ پکاریں گے۔ پھر اسی طرح دوسرے نام بھی عقیدت کے ساتھ بیان کرتے جائیں گے۔

Word by Word

• आद्यस्य: of the first
• आद्यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ādya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन; विशेषण (gen. sg. ‘of the first/foremost’)

• वत्ससंज्ञस्य: of the one named ‘Vatsa’
• वत्ससंज्ञस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vatsa + saṃjñā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (सम्बन्ध: ‘vatsa’-नामक); पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन; विशेषण (gen. sg. ‘having the designation “vatsa”’)

• नाम: the name
• नाम: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; कर्म (acc. sg. ‘name’)

• उच्चार्य: having pronounced
• उच्चार्य: Sambandha (Prior action/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud + √car (चर् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive); ‘having uttered/pronounced’

• गोत्रजम्: the one born in the gotra (clansman)
• गोत्रजम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gotra + ja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (‘gotra’-जः); पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; कर्म (acc. sg. ‘clansman/one born in the gotra’)

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

• नामानि: names
• नामानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd case), बहुवचन; कर्म/कर्मणि (names)

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

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि-भाव (also)

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Sambandha (Adverbial modifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (thus, in this manner)

• कीर्तयिष्यन्ति: will recite, will proclaim
• कीर्तयिष्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kīrt (कीर्त् धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘will recite/proclaim’

• भक्तितः: with devotion
• भक्तितः: Sambandha (Adverbial modifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (तसिल्)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb: ‘out of devotion/devoutly’)

Speaker

Śiva (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A priest prompts a descendant to pronounce the progenitor’s name ‘Vatsa’ and the gotra; the performer holds kuśa and water, lips forming the recitation; a palm-leaf genealogy list nearby.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• gotra
• Pitṛs (ancestors)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ancestral rites require mindful identification—names and gotra—done with devotion, not mechanically.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within a tīrtha-māhātmya discourse, but it does not name a specific site in this line alone.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pronounce the primary ancestor’s name with gotra first, then recite subsequent names in order.