Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

अथाविदूरे चांडालीं वृद्धामंधां कृशाकृतिम् । शुष्यन्मुखीं निराहारां बहुरोगनिपीडिताम्

Transliteration

athāvidūre cāṃḍālīṃ vṛddhāmaṃdhāṃ kṛśākṛtim | śuṣyanmukhīṃ nirāhārāṃ bahuroganipīḍitām

Translation

ثم رأيتُ غير بعيدٍ امرأةً من الشاندالا: عجوزًا عمياءَ هزيلةَ الجسد؛ وجهُها يابسٌ، بلا طعام، مثقلةً بأمراضٍ كثيرة.

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्यय (sequencing particle)

• avidūre: not far away
• avidūre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: avidūra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावार्थे सप्तमी-एकवचन (locative used adverbially): 'not far (away)'

• cāṃḍālīm: a Caṇḍāla woman
• cāṃḍālīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāṇḍālī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• vṛddhām: old
• vṛddhām: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vṛddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; qualifies cāṃḍālīm

• andhām: blind
• andhām: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: andha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; qualifies cāṃḍālīm

• kṛśa-ākṛtim: of emaciated form
• kṛśa-ākṛtim: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛśa (प्रातिपदिक) + ākṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (कृशा आकृतिः यस्याः), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; qualifies cāṃḍālīm

• śuṣyat-mukhīm: with a withering/dried face
• śuṣyat-mukhīm: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śuṣ (धातु) → śuṣyat (वर्तमान कृदन्त) + mukhī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (शुष्यत् मुखं यस्याः), शतृ-प्रत्यय (present participle) + स्त्रीप्रातिपदिक; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• nirāhārām: without food; fasting
• nirāhārām: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-āhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (निर् + आहारः; 'without food'), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• bahu-roga-nipīḍitām: afflicted by many diseases
• bahu-roga-nipīḍitām: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + roga (प्रातिपदिक) + ni-pīḍita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (बहवः रोगाः तैः निपीड़िता), भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त) 'nipīḍita'; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Gautama

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vimala-saras (contextual)

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The King

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In the quiet near the lake, a frail, blind, elderly Cāṇḍāla woman sits in distress—parched, hungry, disease-stricken—while the sage notices her, the scene turning from serenity to compassion.

Characters & Entities

• Gautama
• Cāṇḍālī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-dharma is inseparable from compassion—spiritual progress is tested by one’s response to visible suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader narrative is tied to Gokarṇa; this verse spotlights a moral encounter on the journey.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it sets up an ethical situation likely leading to charity/help (dāna) or protective action.