Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

आकाशेंतर्हितं वीरमपश्यन्रावणा त्मजम् । ततस्तमभिदुद्राव सौमित्रिर्दृष्टिगोचरम्

Transliteration

ākāśeṃtarhitaṃ vīramapaśyanrāvaṇā tmajam | tatastamabhidudrāva saumitrirdṛṣṭigocaram

Translation

Sie erblickten den heldenhaften Sohn Rāvaṇas, der im Himmel verborgen war. Da stürmte Saumitri (Lakṣmaṇa), nachdem er ihn in den Bereich des Blickes gebracht hatte, auf ihn los.

Word by Word

• ākāśe: in the sky
• ākāśe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ākāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — Locative singular

• antarhitam: hidden
• antarhitam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: antarhita (कृदन्त; √dhā/√hā?; here adjectival past participle ‘hidden’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative singular; (विशेषण) qualifying ‘ātmajam’

• vīram: the hero
• vīram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative singular

• apaśyat: saw
• apaśyat: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — 3rd person singular; परस्मैपद

• rāvaṇa-ātmajam: Rāvaṇa’s son
• rāvaṇa-ātmajam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + ātmaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘रावणस्य आत्मजः’); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — Accusative singular

• tatas: then
• tatas: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — adverb (ततः = then/thereupon)

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — Accusative singular (pronoun)

• abhidudrāva: rushed towards
• abhidudrāva: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi-√dru (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — 3rd person singular; परस्मैपद

• saumitriḥ: Saumitri (Lakṣmaṇa)
• saumitriḥ: Kartā (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saumitri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular

• dṛṣṭi-gocaram: within range of sight
• dṛṣṭi-gocaram: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + gocara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘दृष्टेः गोचरः’ = within sight); पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — Accusative singular; (विशेषण) qualifying ‘tam’

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; specific speaker not explicit in this snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setu (Rāma-setu)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis / dvijāḥ (addressed as ‘O twice-born’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indrajit appears concealed in the sky; Lakṣmaṇa (Saumitri) fixes his gaze, brings the hidden foe into sight, and rushes forward with drawn weapon as the armies watch.

Characters & Entities

• Lakṣmaṇa (Saumitri)
• Rāvaṇa
• Rāvaṇātmaja (Indrajit)
• Sky (ākāśa)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When adharma hides through deceit, dharma is granted clarity and courage to confront it directly.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setu/Rāmeśvara landscape (Setukhaṇḍa), where the Rāma-war narrative is framed with sanctifying, place-linked divine aids.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied result of the earlier purification: divya sight enabling the detection of hidden foes.