Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

यथायथा प्रगृह्णंति तापस्यो भूषणार्चिताः । तथातथास्याः संजज्ञे दमयंत्या मुदा हृदि

Transliteration

yathāyathā pragṛhṇaṃti tāpasyo bhūṣaṇārcitāḥ | tathātathāsyāḥ saṃjajñe damayaṃtyā mudā hṛdi

Translation

जैसे-जैसे वे तपस्विनियाँ आभूषणों से सुसज्जित होकर उन्हें लेती जातीं, वैसे-वैसे दमयन्ती के हृदय में बार-बार आनन्द उत्पन्न होता गया।

Word by Word

• yathā-yathā: as and as / whenever
• yathā-yathā: Sambandha (Correlative/Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; repetition indicating distributive sense (yathā yathā = as...as/whenever)

• pragṛhṇanti: they take up
• pragṛhṇanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√grah (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present/वर्तमान), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Bahuvacana; parasmaipada

• tāpasyaḥ: female ascetics
• tāpasyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāpasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana

• bhūṣaṇārcitāḥ: adorned/honoured with ornaments
• bhūṣaṇārcitāḥ: Karta-anvaya (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhūṣaṇa-arcita (प्रातिपदिक; भूषण + अर्चित)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā (1st/प्रथमा), Bahuvacana; arcita = √arc (धातु) kta; viśeṣaṇa of tāpasyaḥ

• tathā-tathā: so and so / correspondingly
• tathā-tathā: Sambandha (Correlative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; correlative to yathā-yathā; distributive repetition

• asyāḥ: of her
• asyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam/tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī (6th/षष्ठी), Ekavacana; genitive

• saṃjajñe: arose, was produced
• saṃjajñe: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-√jan (धातु)
• Form: Liṭ-lakāra (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana; ātmanepada

• damayantyāḥ: of Damayantī
• damayantyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: damayantī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī (6th/षष्ठī), Ekavacana; proper noun; genitive dependent on hṛdi/mudā context

• mudā: with joy
• mudā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mudā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Tṛtīyā (3rd/तृतीया), Ekavacana; instrumental of manner

• hṛdi: in (her) heart
• hṛdi: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hṛd (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसakaliṅga, Saptamī (7th/सप्तमी), Ekavacana

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; speaker not explicit in this snippet)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijoत्तama

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Damayantī’s face softly lit, a quiet smile and luminous eyes; around her, the ascetic women bustle with ornaments, yet the composition centers on Damayantī’s stillness and inner radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Damayantī
• tāpasyaḥ

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The giver’s inner joy is a hallmark of sattvic charity—delight in giving rather than pride in possession.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it supports the chapter’s larger tīrtha-centered teaching on merit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, dāna as a meritorious act; no specific mantra/vrata rule is stated in this verse.