Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 94

Devanagari script

गम्भीर नूपुरध्वानप्रवृद्धोद्धततांडवा । उन्मत्तनेत्रचरणा यात्येषा डिम्भमण्डली

Transliteration

gambhīra nūpuradhvānapravṛddhoddhatatāṃḍavā | unmattanetracaraṇā yātyeṣā ḍimbhamaṇḍalī

Translation

Dans un tāṇḍava déchaîné, attisé par le son profond de ses grelots de cheville—les yeux et les pas en démence—cette bande de misérables poursuit sa route.

Word by Word

• gambhīra: deep, grave
• gambhīra: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gambhīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (ḍimbhamaṇḍalī/eṣā)

• nūpura-dhvāna-pravṛddha-uddhata-tāṇḍavā: whose wild dance is intensified by the sound of anklets
• nūpura-dhvāna-pravṛddha-uddhata-tāṇḍavā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nūpura (प्रातिपदिक) + dhvāna (प्रातिपदिक) + pravṛddha (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-प्रयोग) + uddhata (प्रातिपदिक) + tāṇḍava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (eṣā/ḍimbhamaṇḍalī); समासः—नूपुरध्वानप्रवृद्धोद्धतताण्डवा (बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः/कर्मधारय-प्रायः: ‘नूपुरध्वानेन प्रवृद्धम्, उद्धतं ताण्डवं यस्याः’)

• unmatta-netra-caraṇā: with frenzied eyes and feet
• unmatta-netra-caraṇā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: unmatta (प्रातिपदिक) + netra (प्रातिपदिक) + caraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (eṣā/ḍimbhamaṇḍalī); समासः—उन्मत्तनेत्रचरणा (कर्मधारयः: ‘उन्मत्ते नेत्रे च चरणौ च यस्याः’)

• yāti: goes, moves
• yāti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (या, धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• eṣā: this (she)
• eṣā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ḍimbhamaṇḍalī: a group of children
• ḍimbhamaṇḍalī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ḍimbha (प्रातिपदिक) + maṇḍalī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—डिम्भमण्डली (तत्पुरुषः: ‘डिम्भानां मण्डली’ = group of children)

Speaker

Unspecified (narrative voice within Sūta’s recitation in Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A frenzied dancer’s tāṇḍava dominates the frame; anklets emit a deep, almost drum-like resonance; eyes are wild, feet stamping; behind her, a disorderly group advances like a grim troupe.

Characters & Entities

• Tāṇḍava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Frenzied, uncontrolled conduct symbolizes tamas and adharma; the Purāṇa uses such imagery to provoke discernment and restraint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage sits within Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya, the glorification of Prabhāsa as a sacred domain of dharma-teaching.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is descriptive imagery.