Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

एवमाश्वास्य तां तन्वीं राक्षसं प्राह माधवः । मुंचेमामधमाचार मृद्वंगीं चारुहासिनीम्

Transliteration

evamāśvāsya tāṃ tanvīṃ rākṣasaṃ prāha mādhavaḥ | muṃcemāmadhamācāra mṛdvaṃgīṃ cāruhāsinīm

Translation

Ainsi, après avoir rassuré la jeune fille frêle, Mādhava dit au rākṣasa : « Relâche-la, ô être aux mœurs infâmes — cette femme aux membres délicats et au sourire gracieux. »

Word by Word

• evam: thus
• evam: Prakāra (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: ‘thus’)

• āśvāsya: having consoled
• āśvāsya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā+śvas (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund), ‘having consoled/assured’

• tām: her
• tām: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• tanvīm: slender (woman)
• tanvīm: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tanvī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; (tām इत्यस्य विशेषण)

• rākṣasam: to the demon
• rākṣasam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rākṣasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• prāha: said
• prāha: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ah (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; प्र-उपसर्ग

• mādhavaḥ: Mādhava (Viṣṇu)
• mādhavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mādhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• muñca: release, let go
• muñca: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: muc (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• imām: this (woman)
• imām: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• adhama-ācāra: O vile-behaved one
• adhama-ācāra: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhama (प्रातिपदिक) + ācāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘base in conduct’)

• mṛdu-aṅgīm: soft-limbed
• mṛdu-aṅgīm: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛdu (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅgī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘soft-limbed’)

• cāru-hāsinīm: sweetly smiling
• cāru-hāsinīm: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cāru (प्रातिपदिक) + hāsinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘beautifully smiling’)

Speaker

Mādhava (Hari/Viṣṇu)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mādhava, after consoling the maiden, turns sharply to address a rākṣasa, commanding him to release the tender-limbed woman; the scene balances gentleness and martial authority.

Characters & Entities

• Mādhava
• Rākṣasa
• Vṛndārikā (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True dharma is protective and uncompromising: the righteous confront adharma directly to safeguard the innocent.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it is part of a broader tīrtha-glorification narrative in the Nāgara-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is a moral confrontation within the māhātmya story.