Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 47

Devanagari script

बाला विद्याधरसुता नाम्ना मलयगंधिनी । क्रीडंती पितुराक्रोडे हृता कंकालकेतुना

Transliteration

bālā vidyādharasutā nāmnā malayagaṃdhinī | krīḍaṃtī piturākroḍe hṛtā kaṃkālaketunā

Translation

Une jeune fille, fille d’un Vidyādhara, nommée Malayagandhinī, jouait sur les genoux de son père, lorsqu’elle fut enlevée par Kaṃkālaketu.

Word by Word

• bālā: a girl
• bālā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bālā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (fem. nom. sg.)

• vidyādhara-sutā: daughter of a Vidyādhara
• vidyādhara-sutā: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/विशेष्य-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidyādhara (प्रातिपदिक) + sutā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष—‘विद्याधरस्य सुता’ (fem. nom. sg.)

• nāmnā: by name
• nāmnā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन (neut. instr. sg.)

• malaya-gaṃdhinī: fragrant like Malaya (sandal)
• malaya-gaṃdhinī: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: malaya (प्रातिपदिक) + gaṃdhinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष—‘मलयस्य गन्धः यस्याः सा’ (fem. nom. sg.)

• krīḍantī: playing
• krīḍantī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √krīḍ (क्रीड्)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (pres. act. ptcp. fem. nom. sg.)

• pituḥ: of (her) father
• pituḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन (gen. sg.)

• ākroḍe: in the lap
• ākroḍe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ākroḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन (loc. sg.)

• hṛtā: was abducted
• hṛtā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √hṛ (हृ)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगार्थ (past pass. ptcp. fem. nom. sg.)

• kaṃkāla-ketunā: by Kaṅkālaketu
• kaṃkāla-ketunā: Karana (Agent in passive/कर्तृ-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaṃkāla-ketu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (instr. sg.)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The king addressed in the surrounding dialogue

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A celestial Vidyādhara father holds his little daughter on his lap; a fearsome being named Kaṃkālaketu swoops in to abduct her, creating a dramatic contrast between tenderness and terror.

Characters & Entities

• Vidyādhara
• Malayagandhinī
• Kaṃkālaketu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Puranic narratives often show how innocence is threatened by adharma, preparing the ground for divine or dhārmic intervention.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode is narrated within the Kāśī-kṣetra framework of the Kāśīkhaṇḍa, even when events range beyond Kāśī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it establishes the plot (abduction) that motivates protective action.