Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

तत्र तां रमयामास तदा कामप्रपीडितः । तत्कालजातरागांधां निर्लज्जत्वमुपागताम्

Transliteration

tatra tāṃ ramayāmāsa tadā kāmaprapīḍitaḥ | tatkālajātarāgāṃdhāṃ nirlajjatvamupāgatām

Translation

Là, il se divertit avec elle, alors tourmenté par le désir; et elle, aveuglée par la passion née à l’instant, tomba dans l’impudeur.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक क्रियाविशेषण) — indeclinable adverb of place

• ताम्: her
• ताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन — Feminine, Accusative singular (pronoun)

• रमयामास: he delighted/entertained (made her enjoy)
• रमयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: रम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; (रमयति-प्रयोजक/णिच्-आधारित causative sense) — Perfect, 3rd person singular, active

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kala-adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण) — indeclinable adverb of time

• कामप्रपीडितः: tormented by desire
• कामप्रपीडितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काम + प्रपीडित (कृदन्त; पीड् धातु, उपसर्ग प्र-, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण — Masculine, Nominative singular; past participle used adjectivally

• तत्कालजातरागान्धाम्: blinded by passion that had arisen at that very time
• तत्कालजातरागान्धाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तत् + काल + जात + राग + अन्ध (प्रातिपदिक-समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; विशेषण — Feminine, Accusative singular; qualifying ताम्

• निर्लज्जत्वम्: shamelessness
• निर्लज्जत्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्लज्जत्व (प्रातिपदिक; निर्लज्ज + त्व)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन — Neuter, Accusative singular

• उपागताम्: having attained/come to
• उपागताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उप + गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त — Feminine, Accusative singular; agreeing with ताम्

Speaker

Narrator (third-person narrative voice within the Purāṇa)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: muniśreṣṭha (addressed as ‘O best of sages’ in the surrounding passage)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A secluded grove or riverbank near a sacred locale: a man and a young woman in intimate dalliance; the atmosphere is charged, with visual cues of moral disquiet—half-shadow, disturbed birds, and a distant hint of a shrine or tīrtha marker foreshadowing purification.

Characters & Entities

• Kāma
• Citrāṅgada (implied)
• Kanyā (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Passion is portrayed as blinding and degrading; Purāṇic dharma emphasizes guarding modesty and self-mastery.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.