Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

यावदालोकते तावत्तद्वनं व्याकुलीकृतम् । वीक्षते मदनाविष्टं दशावस्थागतं जनम्

Transliteration

yāvadālokate tāvattadvanaṃ vyākulīkṛtam | vīkṣate madanāviṣṭaṃ daśāvasthāgataṃ janam

Translation

കണ്ണെത്തുന്നത്ര ദൂരമൊക്കെയും ആ വനമാകെ വ്യാകുലമായി; ജനങ്ങൾ കാമാവിഷ്ടരായി പലവിധ അവസ്ഥകളിൽ പതിച്ചവരായി കാണപ്പെട്ടു।

Word by Word

• यावत्: as long as, while
• यावत्: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (correlative adverb: as long as/while)

• आलोकते: he/she looks, beholds
• आलोकते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ+लोक् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• तावत्: so long, then
• तावत्: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण/कालवाचक-अव्यय (correlative: so long/then)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (विशेषणरूपेण)

• वनम्: forest
• वनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• व्याकुलीकृतम्: made disturbed/agitated
• व्याकुलीकृतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि+आ+कुल (प्रातिपदिक) → व्याकुली + कृ (धातु) → व्याकुलीकृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (made agitated)

• वीक्षते: he/she sees
• वीक्षते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वीक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• मदन-आविष्टम्: possessed by Kāma (love)
• मदन-आविष्टम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मदन (प्रातिपदिक) + आविष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त; आ+विश् धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; तृतीया/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थे (मदनेन/मदनस्य आविष्टम् = possessed by Kāma)

• दश-अवस्था-गतम्: having reached the ten stages (of love)
• दश-अवस्था-गतम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + अवस्था (प्रातिपदिक) + गत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त; गम् धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (दश अवस्थाः गतः/गतं)

• जनम्: people, person(s)
• जनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator), by context

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-vana (forest tīrtha on Narmadā)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A wide vista of forest as far as the eye reaches, every grove stirred—people in varied emotional states: some laughing, some weeping, some quarrelling, some languid—each marked by Kāma’s influence; wind tosses blossoms like confetti.

Characters & Entities

• Madana (Kāma)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unchecked desire agitates both mind and environment; dharma requires mastery over impulses.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode belongs to the Gaṅgā-sāgara sacred setting within Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a narrative observation about the spread of desire’s influence.