Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

स्त्रीकदंबकमध्यस्थो ययौ मत्तवदास्खलन् । ददर्श च वनं वीरो रमणीयमनुत्तमम्

Transliteration

strīkadaṃbakamadhyastho yayau mattavadāskhalan | dadarśa ca vanaṃ vīro ramaṇīyamanuttamam

Translation

Au milieu d’un groupe de femmes, il s’avança tel un homme ivre, chancelant ; et le héros aperçut une forêt souverainement charmante, sans pareille.

Word by Word

• strī-kadambaka-madhyasthaḥ: standing amid a group of women
• strī-kadambaka-madhyasthaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक) + kadambaka (प्रातिपदिक) + madhyastha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (स्त्रीणां कदंबकस्य मध्ये स्थितः)

• yayau: went
• yayau: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• mattavat: like a drunk man
• mattavat: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mattavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोगः; नपुंसकलिङ्ग/अव्ययवत्, क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण (indeclinable-like adverbial use)

• askhalan: did not stumble
• askhalan: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √skhal (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; नकारार्थे ‘अ-’ उपसर्गः (not stumbling)

• dadarśa: saw
• dadarśa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

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

• vanam: forest
• vanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• vīraḥ: the hero
• vīraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• ramaṇīyam: delightful
• ramaṇīyam: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ramaṇīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (vanam)

• anuttamam: unsurpassed, excellent
• anuttamam: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anuttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (vanam)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and sages

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Balarāma, surrounded by a cluster of women, walks unsteadily like one intoxicated; before him opens an incomparable, enchanting forest—lush, luminous, and strangely ominous in its perfection.

Characters & Entities

• Balarāma
• Raivata Udyāna/forest setting

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas often contrast human moods with the steady sanctity of nature—sacred forests remain ‘anuttama’ (unsurpassed) as loci of auspiciousness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse praises the exceptional forest/grove (linked to Raivata Udyāna) within the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa’s sacred-geography frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse.