Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

आकीटांतं जगत्सर्वमाब्रह्मांतं तथैव च । विडंबनां परां प्राप्तं मच्छरैश्चारुहासिनि

Transliteration

ākīṭāṃtaṃ jagatsarvamābrahmāṃtaṃ tathaiva ca | viḍaṃbanāṃ parāṃ prāptaṃ maccharaiścāruhāsini

Translation

Die ganze Welt — von den Insekten bis hinauf zu Brahmā — ist durch meine Pfeile gleichermaßen in die äußerste Lächerlichkeit gestürzt worden, o du Holdlächelnde.

Word by Word

• ākīṭāntam: From the worm upwards
• ākīṭāntam: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-kīṭa-anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Adverbial Compound

• jagat: World/Universe
• jagat: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st), Singular

• sarvam: All/Entire
• sarvam: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st), Singular

• ābrahmāntam: Up to Brahma
• ābrahmāntam: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-brahma-anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Adverbial Compound

• tathā: So/Similarly
• tathā: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb

• eva: Indeed
• eva: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Particle

• ca: And
• ca: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction

• viḍaṃbanām: Mockery/Distress
• viḍaṃbanām: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viḍambanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• parām: Great/Extreme
• parām: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• prāptam: Obtained/Reached
• prāptam: Visheshana (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prāpta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Past Passive Participle, Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• mat-śaraiḥ: By my arrows
• mat-śaraiḥ: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mat-śara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural

• cāruhāsini: O sweet-smiling one
• cāruhāsini: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cāruhāsinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Vocative (Sambodhana), Singular

Speaker

Kāma (Puṣpaśara)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The speaker gestures expansively, claiming the entire cosmos—from insects to Brahmā—has become an object of derision under his arrows; the addressed woman is ‘fair-smiling,’ creating a contrast between charm and cosmic humiliation.

Characters & Entities

• Kāma
• Brahmā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

No being is exempt from temptation; spiritual life requires humility and protective disciplines.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse does not name a tīrtha; it supports the chapter’s didactic context within a tīrtha-mahātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is explicitly mentioned.