Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

तेनैकं वदनं मुक्त्वा तस्या वस्त्रावगुंठितम् । वीक्षिताऽतिस्मरार्तेन यथा कश्चिन्न बुद्ध्यते

Transliteration

tenaikaṃ vadanaṃ muktvā tasyā vastrāvaguṃṭhitam | vīkṣitā'tismarārtena yathā kaścinna buddhyate

Translation

Dans cette intention, ne laissant découvert que son visage tandis que le reste demeurait voilé de tissu, il la fixa du regard, si cruellement frappé par une passion écrasante qu’il pouvait à peine penser clairement.

Word by Word

• tena: by that/therefore
• tena: Karaṇa/Hetu (Instrument/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ekam: one
• ekam: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (of vadanam)

• vadanam: face
• vadanam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vadana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• muktvā: having let (it) go
• muktvā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: muc (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund), ‘having released/letting go’

• tasyāḥ: of her
• tasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• vastra-avaguṃṭhitam: covered/veiled with cloth
• vastra-avaguṃṭhitam: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vastra (प्रातिपदिक) + avaguṃṭhita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle) नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (of vadanam)

• vīkṣitā: was looked at
• vīkṣitā: Kriyā (Participial predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vīkṣ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (understood: ‘she/it was looked at’)

• ati-smara-ārtena: by one extremely afflicted by passion
• ati-smara-ārtena: Karaṇa/Hetu (Instrument/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ati (अव्यय) + smara (प्रातिपदिक) + ārta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास; पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; करण/हेतु (agent/cause)

• yathā: as
• yathā: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, उपमान/प्रकारवाचक (as/just as)

• kaścit: someone
• kaścit: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaścid (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निषेध निपात (negation)

• buddhyate: understands/realizes
• buddhyate: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: budh (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोग (is understood/comes to mind)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator; specific speaker not stated in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Satī remains mostly veiled; only her face is left uncovered. Brahmā, overwhelmed by passion, stares with a fixed, unthinking gaze; the contrast between veil (modesty) and gaze (transgression) dominates the scene.

Characters & Entities

• Smara (Kāma)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Intense kāma overwhelms buddhi (discernment); spiritual life requires guarding the mind and senses.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not stated in the verse; it forms part of a broader Tīrthamāhātmya narrative context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse is descriptive, illustrating the mental consequences of desire.