Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 90

Devanagari script

पुन्नागकेशराशोकच्छिन्नकिजल्कपिंजरे । कल्पिते कांचनगिरौ द्वितीय इव वेधसा

Transliteration

punnāgakeśarāśokacchinnakijalkapiṃjare | kalpite kāṃcanagirau dvitīya iva vedhasā

Translation

Au sein d’un fourré aux reflets d’or—teinté par le pollen des fleurs de punnāga, de kesara et d’aśoka—on eût dit que le Créateur lui-même avait façonné une seconde « montagne d’or ».

Word by Word

• पुन्नागकेशराशोकच्छिन्नकिजल्कपिंजरे: on (a mountain) tawny with pollen shaken from punnāga and aśoka blossoms
• पुन्नागकेशराशोकच्छिन्नकिजल्कपिंजरे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुन्नाग (प्रातिपदिक) + केसर (प्रातिपदिक) + अशोक (प्रातिपदिक) + छिन्न (प्रातिपदिक) + किजल्क (प्रातिपदिक) + पिञ्जर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः; विशेषणम् (गिरौ): पुन्नाग-केसरैः अशोकैः छिन्न-किजल्कैः पिञ्जरे (पीतवर्णे)

• कल्पिते: fashioned, made
• कल्पिते: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कॢप् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (भूतकर्मणि), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — विशेषणम् (गिरौ): 'fashioned/constructed'

• कांचनगिरौ: on the golden mountain
• कांचनगिरौ: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काञ्चन (प्रातिपदिक) + गिरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — कर्मधारयः: काञ्चनः गिरिः

• द्वितीयः: a second (one)
• द्वितीयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वितीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — विशेषणम् (गिरिः/सः)

• इव: as if, like
• इव: Sambandha (Comparison/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपमा-निपात)

• वेधसा: by the Creator (Brahmā)
• वेधसा: Karana (Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेधस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन — ब्रह्मा (creator)

Speaker

Brahmā (deduced; Vaiṣṇava Khaṇḍa narrative frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ayodhyā-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A luminous grove in Ayodhyā: punnāga, kesara, and aśoka blossoms shed golden pollen, tinting the air and foliage so the whole thicket resembles a newly created golden mountain.

Characters & Entities

• Vedhas (Brahmā)
• Punnāga
• Aśoka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The holy environment is presented as divinely crafted—beauty itself becomes testimony to sacred order (ṛta) and merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The flower-rich precincts of Raibhya’s āśrama near Himavat, celebrated as a divinely fashioned sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the focus is on māhātmya-style glorification through metaphor and sacred scenery.