Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

युवा बहुकलत्रोऽपि कामासक्तोऽजितेंद्रियः । इमां पापीयसीं चेष्टां पुनरेकां गतोऽस्म्यहम्

Transliteration

yuvā bahukalatro'pi kāmāsakto'jiteṃdriyaḥ | imāṃ pāpīyasīṃ ceṣṭāṃ punarekāṃ gato'smyaham

Translation

Obwohl ich jung war und viele Gattinnen hatte, war ich der Begierde verfallen, die Sinne unbezähmt; abermals ging ich diesen höchst sündhaften Weg des Handelns.

Word by Word

• yuvā: a young man / I (as) young
• yuvā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuvan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• bahu-kalatraḥ: having many wives
• bahu-kalatraḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + kalatra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/विशेषणार्थः (having many wives)

• api: even though
• api: Sambandha/Avyaya (particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अर्थः ‘even/although’

• kāma-āsaktaḥ: attached to lust
• kāma-āsaktaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक) + āsakta (कृदन्त; √sañj/√asaj ‘to cling’ past participle)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषभावः—‘कामे आसक्तः’

• ajita-indriyaḥ: one with uncontrolled senses
• ajita-indriyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-jita (कृदन्त; √ji ‘to conquer’ + नञ्) + indriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—‘अजितानि इन्द्रियाणि यस्य’ (one whose senses are unconquered)

• imām: this
• imām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• pāpīyasīm: more sinful / very wicked
• pāpīyasīm: Viśeṣaṇa (of ceṣṭām)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpīyas (प्रातिपदिक; comparative of pāpa)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• ceṣṭām: conduct, act
• ceṣṭām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ceṣṭā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• punar: again
• punar: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• ekām: one (single)
• ekām: Viśeṣaṇa (of ceṣṭām)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘ceṣṭām’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• gataḥ: gone, fallen into
• gataḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु) + kta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगे ‘gone/entered’

• asmi: am
• asmi: Kriyā (Copula)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तम-पुरुष (1st person), एकवचन

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aham (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Rākṣasa

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A remorseful king/nobleman in a dim palace chamber, head bowed, hands in añjali, recalling his uncontrolled youth and sinful pursuit; shadows of inner apartments suggest moral confinement and regret.

Characters & Entities

• Rākṣasa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unrestrained desire (kāma) and uncontrolled senses lead repeatedly to sin; dharma begins with inner mastery.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No sacred site is praised in this verse; it is a cautionary moral narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the implied discipline is indriya-nigraha (sense-restraint).