Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच । एवं सा माधवी विप्राः सुभगारूपमास्थिता । अवतीर्णा धरापृष्ठे लक्ष्मीशापप्रपीडिता

Transliteration

sūta uvāca | evaṃ sā mādhavī viprāḥ subhagārūpamāsthitā | avatīrṇā dharāpṛṣṭhe lakṣmīśāpaprapīḍitā

Translation

Sūta dit : «Ainsi, ô brāhmaṇas, cette Mādhavī—ayant revêtu une forme des plus auspiciées—descendit sur la surface de la terre, accablée par la malédiction de Lakṣmī.»

Word by Word

• sūtaḥ: Sūta (the narrator)
• sūtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• evam: thus
• evam: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of manner)

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• mādhavī: Mādhavī
• mādhavī: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mādhavī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• viprāḥ: O brāhmaṇas
• viprāḥ: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• subhaga-rūpam: a beautiful form
• subhaga-rūpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: subhaga (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मधारय-समास (descriptive)

• āsthitā: having assumed / having taken (up)
• āsthitā: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• avatīrṇā: descended
• avatīrṇā: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava-√tṝ (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• dharā-pṛṣṭhe: on the surface of the earth
• dharā-pṛṣṭhe: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharā (प्रातिपदिक) + pṛṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative)

• lakṣmī-śāpa-prapīḍitā: afflicted by Lakṣmī’s curse
• lakṣmī-śāpa-prapīḍitā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: lakṣmī (प्रातिपदिक) + śāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + pra-√pīḍ (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past participle) ‘prapīḍita’; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुष-समास (lakṣmyāḥ śāpena prapīḍitā)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: brāhmaṇas (viprāḥ)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūta narrates to assembled brāhmaṇas: Mādhavī, radiant and auspicious in form, descends to earth while the unseen weight of Lakṣmī’s curse hangs like a subtle aura—beauty mixed with pathos.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Mādhavī
• Lakṣmī
• Earth (Dharā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Puranic narratives frame suffering (even via a curse) as a doorway to divine descent and eventual restoration through dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse does not specify the tīrtha by name; it sets the mythic background within the Tīrthamāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it provides narrative causation (Lakṣmī’s curse) for the descent.