Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

मेने नारायणो देवो लक्ष्मीप्रेमरसाधिकम् । वृंदां वियोगजं दुःखं विनोदयति माधवे

Transliteration

mene nārāyaṇo devo lakṣmīpremarasādhikam | vṛṃdāṃ viyogajaṃ duḥkhaṃ vinodayati mādhave

Translation

Nārāyaṇa dachte: „Diese Süße übertrifft selbst den Liebes‑rasa Lakṣmīs.“ So machte er sich als Mādhava daran, Vṛndās aus Trennung geborenen Kummer zu vertreiben.

Word by Word

• मेने: he thought
• मेने: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मन् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; ‘he thought/considered’

• नारायणः: Nārāyaṇa
• नारायणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्ता

• देवः: the god
• देवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नारायणस्य विशेषण/अप्पोजिशन्

• लक्ष्मीप्रेमरसाधिकम्: greater than the nectar of Lakṣmī’s love
• लक्ष्मीप्रेमरसाधिकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लक्ष्मी (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रेम (प्रातिपदिक) + रस (प्रातिपदिक) + अधिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (implicit object of मेने) ‘लक्ष्म्याः प्रेमरसात् अधिकम्’

• वृंदाम्: Vṛndā (as object/concern)
• वृंदाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृंदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; दुःखस्य विषय (about/for Vṛndā)

• वियोगजम्: born of separation
• वियोगजम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वियोग (प्रातिपदिक) + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; दुःखं विशेषयति—‘वियोगात् जातम्’

• दुःखम्: sorrow
• दुःखम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्म

• विनोदयति: dispels, removes
• विनोदयति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + नुद् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• माधवे: in Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa) / with Mādhava
• माधवे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माधव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अधिकरण (locative: ‘in/with respect to Mādhava’)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; explicitly identified as Nārada beginning at 51)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vṛndāvana (narrative locus)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Nārāyaṇa/Mādhava inwardly reflects on the sweetness of the moment and turns compassionately to console Vṛndā’s separation-born sorrow.

Characters & Entities

• Nārāyaṇa
• Lakṣmī
• Vṛndā
• Mādhava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It depicts divine agency working through emotion and attachment, showing how grief (viyoga) can be redirected—though the episode also foreshadows moral complexity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse remains within the Tīrthamāhātmya framework but does not itself name a tīrtha; it advances the Vṛndā–Mādhava storyline linked to later sacralization (Tulasī/Vṛndāvana).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual instruction is given in this verse.