Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 91

Devanagari script

सा बभौ कांतिसर्वस्वकोशः कुसुमधन्वनः । उर्वश्यनल्पसामान्यलावण्यामृतवाहिनी

Transliteration

sā babhau kāṃtisarvasvakośaḥ kusumadhanvanaḥ | urvaśyanalpasāmānyalāvaṇyāmṛtavāhinī

Translation

Sie erstrahlte, als wäre sie die Schatzkammer aller Leuchtkraft für Kāma, den Herrn mit dem Blumenbogen; ein Strom des Nektars der Schönheit—selten selbst unter Wesen wie Urvaśī.

Word by Word

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• बभौ: shone, appeared
• बभौ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• कांतिसर्वस्वकोशः: a treasury of all radiance
• कांतिसर्वस्वकोशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कान्ति (प्रातिपदिक) + सर्वस्व (प्रातिपदिक) + कोश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः: कान्तेः सर्वस्वं (यस्य) सः कोशः; उपमेय-रूपेण स्त्री (सा) प्रति पुंलिङ्ग-प्रातिपदिक-प्रयोगः (काव्य)

• कुसुमधन्वनः: (like) the flower-bowed one (Cupid)
• कुसुमधन्वनः: Karta (Apposition/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुसुम (प्रातिपदिक) + धन्वन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — तत्पुरुषः: कुसुमैः धन्वा (धनुषा) यस्य (मन्मथस्य) / 'flower-bowed (Cupid)'

• उर्वश्यनल्पसामान्यलावण्यामृतवाहिनी: bearing nectar-like beauty extraordinary even for Urvaśī
• उर्वश्यनल्पसामान्यलावण्यामृतवाहिनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उर्वशी (प्रातिपदिक) + अनल्प (प्रातिपदिक) + सामान्य (प्रातिपदिक) + लावण्य (प्रातिपदिक) + अमृत (प्रातिपदिक) + वाहिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः; विशेषणम् (सा): उर्वश्याः अनल्पसामान्यं (असाधारणं) लावण्यामृतं वहति इति

Speaker

Brahmā (deduced; Vaiṣṇava Khaṇḍa narrative frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ayodhyā-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A personified vision of Ayodhyā’s beauty: she appears as the very treasury of radiance for Kāma, surpassing even Urvaśī—like a river flowing with nectar of loveliness.

Characters & Entities

• Kusumadhanvan (Kāma)
• Urvaśī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic māhātmyas often depict beauty as a power that can test ascetic steadiness, underscoring vigilance and self-mastery in dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The scene remains the Raibhya āśrama region; the verse heightens the sanctified narrative atmosphere rather than naming a new tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is descriptive, setting up a dharmic trial motif common in āśrama narratives.