Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

या नारी तत्र देवेशि भक्त्या स्नानं समाचरेत् । तदन्वयेपि काचित्स्त्री न वैधव्यमवाप्नुयात्

Transliteration

yā nārī tatra deveśi bhaktyā snānaṃ samācaret | tadanvayepi kācitstrī na vaidhavyamavāpnuyāt

Translation

噢诸天之主母，凡有女子在彼处以虔敬沐浴者，即便在其家族血脉之中，也无一女子会遭受寡居之苦。

Word by Word

• yā: who (that)
• yā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; relative pronoun (या = who/which)

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

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्थानवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• deveśi: O goddess (lady of gods)
• deveśi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deveśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; address to the goddess

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; instrumental (means/manner)

• snānam: bath, bathing
• snānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (object)

• samācaret: should perform
• samācaret: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-car (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘should perform/practise’

• tad-anvaye: in her lineage
• tad-anvaye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + anvaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; तस्य अन्वये = in her lineage; compound: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• api: even, also
• api: Sambandha/Emphasis (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle) = even/also

• kācit: some (any)
• kācit: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kācid (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक सर्वनाम (indefinite)

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

• na: not
• na: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• vaidhavyam: widowhood
• vaidhavyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaidhavya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म

• avāpnuyāt: would obtain
• avāpnuyāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava-āp (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘would obtain/should get’ (negated by na)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jāmbavatī-tīrtha (river snāna-sthāna)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (explicitly addressed: deveśi)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Women devotees at the sacred bathing spot offer añjali to the river, perform snāna with devotion; above them, the river-goddess Jāmbavatī is envisioned as a luminous satī-bestowing blessings upon families.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
• Jāmbavatī River

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional contact with a consecrated tīrtha is portrayed as extending protective grace beyond the individual to the family line.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Jāmbavatī River tīrtha in Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bhakti-yukta snāna (devotional bathing) at that river-site.