Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 75

Devanagari script

हसतां गायतां क्वापि नृत्यतामथ धावताम् । जिघ्रतां पिबतां कामाद्गच्छतां प्रतिगर्जताम्

Transliteration

hasatāṃ gāyatāṃ kvāpi nṛtyatāmatha dhāvatām | jighratāṃ pibatāṃ kāmādgacchatāṃ pratigarjatām

Translation

Einige lachten; andere sangen irgendwo; wieder andere tanzten und liefen dann umher—manche schnupperten, manche tranken nach Belieben—während andere weiterzogen und einander laut zuriefen.

Word by Word

• हसताम्: of those who are laughing
• हसताम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हस् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Present active participle), पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; 'हसत्' इति प्रातिपदिक

• गायताम्: of those who are singing
• गायताम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गै (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी, बहुवचन; 'गायत्'

• क्व: somewhere/where
• क्व: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्व (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्न/अनिर्दिष्ट-स्थानवाचक (interrogative/indefinite locative adverb)

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle: also/even)

• नृत्यताम्: of those who are dancing
• नृत्यताम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नृत् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी, बहुवचन; 'नृत्यत्'

• अथ: then/and
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-सम्बन्धक/अनन्तरार्थक (then/and then)

• धावताम्: of those who are running
• धावताम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: धाव् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी, बहुवचन; 'धावत्'

• जिघ्रताम्: of those who are smelling
• जिघ्रताम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: घ्रा (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी, बहुवचन; 'जिघ्रत्' (घ्रा-धातोः)

• पिबताम्: of those who are drinking
• पिबताम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी, बहुवचन; 'पिबत्'

• कामात्: from desire; at will
• कामात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• गच्छताम्: of those who are going
• गच्छताम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी, बहुवचन; 'गच्छत्'

• प्रतिगर्जताम्: of those who are roaring back/shouting
• प्रतिगर्जताम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति + गर्ज् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी, बहुवचन; उपसर्गयुक्त 'प्रतिगर्जत्'

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced: Purāṇic narrator style within Brāhma-khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gokarṇa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A surging pilgrimage crowd in many moods—laughing, singing, dancing, running, sniffing flowers or incense, drinking water—moving along a dusty road toward a distant Śiva shrine.

Characters & Entities

• Gokarṇa
• Śiva (implied by Śiva-mandira context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It portrays the intense momentum of pilgrimage—worldly excitement still moves people toward a sacred destination.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gokarṇa, approached as the seat of a Śiva-mandira (Śiva temple).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed here; it is a descriptive scene of the traveling multitude.