Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

एतस्मिन्नंतरे गोपी काचित्तत्पुरवासिनी । एकपुत्रा भर्तृहीना तत्रैवासीच्चिरंतना

Transliteration

etasminnaṃtare gopī kācittatpuravāsinī | ekaputrā bhartṛhīnā tatraivāsīcciraṃtanā

Translation

其间，在那座城中住着一位牧牛女子，久居其地；她已守寡，且只有一个儿子。

Word by Word

• एतस्मिन्: in this
• एतस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अन्तरे: in the meantime
• अन्तरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘in the interval/meanwhile’

• गोपी: a cowherd woman
• गोपी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोपी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• काचित्: a certain
• काचित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक-सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun)

• तत्-पुर-वासिनी: dwelling in that city
• तत्-पुर-वासिनी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + पुर (प्रातिपदिक) + वासिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष ‘dwelling in that city’

• एक-पुत्रा: having one son
• एक-पुत्रा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक) + पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि ‘having one son’

• भर्तृ-हीना: without a husband
• भर्तृ-हीना: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भर्तृ (प्रातिपदिक) + हीन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नञ्/अभावार्थ-तत्पुरुष ‘devoid of husband’

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Desha (Place/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place: there)

• एव: indeed; just
• एव: Sambandha/Emphasis (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (particle: indeed/just)

• आसीत्: was
• आसीत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• चिरन्तना: long-established; aged
• चिरन्तना: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चिरन्तन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण ‘long-standing/old’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ujjayinī/Avanti (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A widowed cowherd woman of Ujjayinī, modestly dressed, stands near her dwelling with her only son—an intimate domestic scene amid the larger city crisis.

Characters & Entities

• Gopī (cowherd woman)
• Ujjayinī (context)
• Single son (unnamed)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa widens the sacred story beyond kings: even a humble, vulnerable resident becomes central to the unfolding grace of the kṣetra’s deity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ujjayinī (Ujjain), the city where Mahākāla’s protective power is narrated through both royal and common lives.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it introduces a devotee-character who will connect the narrative to Mahākāla’s kṣetra-māhātmya.