Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

वर्षासु च जलाहारा भूत्वा सा विष कन्यका । आकाशे शयनं चक्रे परित्यक्तकुटीरका

Transliteration

varṣāsu ca jalāhārā bhūtvā sā viṣa kanyakā | ākāśe śayanaṃ cakre parityaktakuṭīrakā

Translation

Et durant la saison des pluies, elle ne vécut que d’eau ; cette jeune fille dormit à la belle étoile, ayant quitté sa hutte.

Word by Word

• varṣāsu: in the rainy season(s)
• varṣāsu: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; कालाधिकरण

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• jalāhārā: having water as food (living on water)
• jalāhārā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक) + āhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण—‘सा/कन्यका’

• bhūtvā: having become
• bhūtvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• viṣa: poisonous / like poison
• viṣa: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र विशेषणरूपेण ‘कन्यका’ इत्यस्य (poison-like/poisonous)

• kanyakā: maiden
• kanyakā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kanyakā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृ/विषय

• ākāśe: in the sky / open air
• ākāśe: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ākāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; देशाधिकरण

• śayanam: sleeping / lying down
• śayanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śayana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्म—‘चक्रे’

• cakre: did / performed
• cakre: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• parityaktakuṭīrakā: one who has abandoned her hut
• parityaktakuṭīrakā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pari-√tyaj (धातु) + parityakta (कृदन्त) + kuṭīraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहिसमास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण—‘सा/कन्यका’; अर्थः ‘यस्या: कुटीरकं परित्यक्तम्’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Monsoon season: the ascetic maiden lives on water alone, leaves her hut, and sleeps under the open sky; rain sheets, dark clouds, wet earth, and her unwavering posture convey hardship and resolve.

Characters & Entities

• kanyakā (maiden)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Detachment and endurance—reducing comforts and accepting exposure—are presented as supportive conditions for single-minded worship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is embedded in a tīrtha-glorification chapter, but it does not itself specify the site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Jalāhāra (water-only intake) during the monsoon and sleeping in the open, abandoning the hut.