Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

तडागतट उत्सृज्य भूषणान्यङ्गवेष्टकान् । चक्रुः सरसिताः क्रीडां जलमध्यगतास्तदा

Transliteration

taḍāgataṭa utsṛjya bhūṣaṇānyaṅgaveṣṭakān | cakruḥ sarasitāḥ krīḍāṃ jalamadhyagatāstadā

Translation

കുളത്തിന്റെ കര വിട്ട്, ആഭരണങ്ങളും ദേഹാവരണങ്ങളും മാറ്റിവെച്ച്, അവർ തടാകജലത്തിന്റെ നടുവിലേക്ക് ഇറങ്ങി; അപ്പോൾ അവിടെ കളിയാരംഭിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• तडागतटम्: the pond-bank
• तडागतटम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तडाग-तट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तडागस्य तटम् (the bank of the pond)

• उत्सृज्य: having left/abandoned
• उत्सृज्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उत्-√सृज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund)

• भूषणानि: ornaments
• भूषणानि: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अङ्गवेष्टकान्: body-wraps/garments
• अङ्गवेष्टकान्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अङ्ग-वेष्टक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः—अङ्गं वेष्टयन्ति इति (body-wrappings/garments)

• चक्रुः: they did/made
• चक्रुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• सरसिताः: the (lake-going) maidens
• सरसिताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरसित (प्रातिपदिक; सरस् + इत (तद्धित/कृदन्त) ‘connected with water/pond’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (referring to the girls as ‘those in/at the lake’)

• क्रीडाम्: play/sport
• क्रीडाम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रीडा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जलमध्यगताः: having gone into mid-water
• जलमध्यगताः: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जल-मध्य-गत (प्रातिपदिक; गत = √गम् (धातु) क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—जलस्य मध्ये गताः (gone into the middle of the water)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration within Revā Khaṇḍa; specific speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of young women at a pond-bank set aside ornaments and wraps, then wade into the lake’s center, splashing and playing amid lotus leaves; the shoreline recedes behind them.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It depicts immersion in water as a liminal moment—often the narrative gateway in Purāṇas for testing, protection, and the unfolding of divine justice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Revā (Narmadā) sacred region; the pond itself is part of the narrative scene without a named tirtha in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; bathing/entering water appears as narrative action rather than a stated rite.