Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

ततः कतिपयाहस्य मयोढा सा सुविस्मिता । सखीजनसमायुक्ता फलार्थं निर्गता वने

Transliteration

tataḥ katipayāhasya mayoḍhā sā suvismitā | sakhījanasamāyuktā phalārthaṃ nirgatā vane

Translation

Quelques jours après m'avoir épousé, elle, encore tout étonnée, sortit dans la forêt avec ses compagnes pour cueillir des fruits.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्ध/अनन्तरार्थे (indeclinable adverb: 'thereupon/then')

• कतिपयाहस्य: of a few days
• कतिपयाहस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कतिपय (प्रातिपदिक) + अहस्/अहन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (अहस्); षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (of a few days)

• मयोढा: the newly-married woman/bride
• मयोढा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मयोढा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Apposition to subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• सुविस्मिता: greatly astonished
• सुविस्मिता: Visheshana (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + विस्मित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √स्मि/विस्मि)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त/कृदन्त-विशेषण (past participial adjective: 'very astonished')

• सखीजनसमायुक्ता: accompanied by her female friends
• सखीजनसमायुक्ता: Visheshana (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सखी (प्रातिपदिक) + जन (प्रातिपदिक) + समा-युक्त (कृदन्त; √युज्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (सखीजनैः समायुक्ता = accompanied by female friends); कृदन्त-विशेषण

• फलार्थम्: for (gathering) fruits
• फलार्थम्: Prayojana (Purpose)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (for the sake of fruits)

• निर्गता: went out
• निर्गता: Kriya (Predicate action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: निर् (उपसर्ग) + √गम् (धातु) → गत (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) used predicatively (having gone out/went out)

• वने: in the forest
• वने: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

Speaker

First-person narrator within the episode (continuing the account)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Addressed as “sūtaja” (son of a charioteer/sūta), indicating a sūta-listener frame typical of Purāṇic narration

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A newly married woman, still in a mood of wonder, walks with her sakhīs into a fruit-laden forest; creepers hang, light filters through leaves; baskets for fruits; a calm before impending tragedy.

Characters & Entities

• Mṛgāvatī
• Sakhīs (companions)
• Forest (vana)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma sanctifies ordinary duties—household life and simple sustenance proceed within a sacred moral order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha-māhātmya frame remains in effect; this verse narrates events in the forest near the hermitage without naming the site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes customary activity (collecting fruits) rather than a formal rite.