Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

तमायांतं विलोक्याशु बहुलानन्दसुन्दरम् । कृष्णद्वैपायनो व्यासः पप्रच्छानंदकारणम्

Transliteration

tamāyāṃtaṃ vilokyāśu bahulānandasundaram | kṛṣṇadvaipāyano vyāsaḥ papracchānaṃdakāraṇam

Translation

उसे आते देखकर, जो अपार आनंद से दीप्त और सुन्दर था, कृष्णद्वैपायन व्यास ने शीघ्र ही उसके आनंद का कारण पूछा।

Word by Word

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• āyāntam: coming
• āyāntam: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā√yā (धातु)
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; धातु: या (2.प.) उपसर्ग: आ; विशेषणम् (tam)

• vilokya: having seen
• vilokya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi√lok (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभावः; धातु: लोक् (1.प.) उपसर्ग: वि; अर्थः: विलोक्य = having seen

• āśu: quickly
• āśu: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: āśu (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/रीतिवाचक अव्यय (adverb)

• bahula-ānanda-sundaram: beautiful with abundant joy
• bahula-ānanda-sundaram: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahula (प्रातिपदिक) + ānanda (प्रातिपदिक) + sundara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (बहुलः आनन्दः यस्मिन्/येन) + कर्मधारय (ānanda-sundara); पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (tam)

• kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyanaḥ: Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana
• kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyanaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛṣṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + dvaipāyana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयसमास (कृष्णः द्वैपायनः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; व्यासस्य विशेषणम्

• vyāsaḥ: Vyāsa
• vyāsaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• papraccha: asked
• papraccha: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra√prach (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; धातु: प्रच्छ् (6.प.) उपसर्ग: प्र; अर्थः: पप्रच्छ = asked

• ānanda-kāraṇam: the cause of (his) joy
• ānanda-kāraṇam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ānanda (प्रातिपदिक) + kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (ānandasya kāraṇam); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual, Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa—Ayodhyāmāhātmya; speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ayodhyā (implied as the source of joy)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka-group (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vyāsa, the dark-complexioned sage, sees an approaching rishi glowing with joy; he turns with attentive curiosity, ready to ask about the source of that bliss.

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa (Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana)
• Agastya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual joy is treated as meaningful evidence of inner purification, prompting inquiry into its sacred cause.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly, Ayodhyā—since the overflowing joy is the aftermath of its tīrtha-yātrā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse transitions into a dialogue about the source of spiritual bliss.