Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

तद्दृष्ट्वा महदाश्चर्यं रूपं देवस्य भारत । युवतीनां मनस्तासां कामेन कलुषीकृतम्

Transliteration

taddṛṣṭvā mahadāścaryaṃ rūpaṃ devasya bhārata | yuvatīnāṃ manastāsāṃ kāmena kaluṣīkṛtam

Translation

Ô Bhārata, voyant la forme merveilleuse du Dieu, l’esprit de ces jeunes femmes fut voilé et souillé par le désir.

Word by Word

• tat: that (it)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), ‘having seen’

• mahat: great
• mahat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• āścaryam: wonder, marvel
• āścaryam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āścarya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• rūpam: form, appearance
• rūpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• devasya: of the god
• devasya: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• bhārata: O Bhārata
• bhārata: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhārata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• yuvatīnām: of the young women
• yuvatīnām: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन

• manaḥ: mind
• manaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• tāsām: of those (women)
• tāsām: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• kāmena: by desire, with lust
• kāmena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• kaluṣīkṛtam: was tainted/defiled
• kaluṣīkṛtam: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kaluṣī-kṛta (कृदन्त; kaluṣī + kṛ (धातु))
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (Past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘made impure’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dāruvana (narrative-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhārata (addressed as interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant, wondrous Deity appears in the forest; young women gaze, their eyes widened in astonishment as desire clouds their composure; the forest hermitage background contrasts with sudden sensual agitation.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (as the wondrous deity)
• Daruvana women (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Extraordinary beauty can become a test: unchecked kāma clouds discernment and disturbs inner purity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The narrative locus is Daruvana; the Revā Khaṇḍa context frames it within a sacred-travel discourse of the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse functions as ethical diagnosis rather than ritual instruction.