Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

गन्धमादनमासाद्य पुंस्कोकिलकुलाकुलम् । चचार माधवो रम्यं प्रोत्फुल्लवनपादपम्

Transliteration

gandhamādanamāsādya puṃskokilakulākulam | cacāra mādhavo ramyaṃ protphullavanapādapam

Translation

ആൺകുയിലുകളുടെ കൂകൽ നിറഞ്ഞ ഗന്ധമാദനത്തെ പ്രാപിച്ച്, മാധവൻ (വസന്തൻ) പുഷ്പങ്ങൾ പൊട്ടിവിരിഞ്ഞ വൃക്ഷങ്ങളാൽ ശോഭിച്ച ആ മനോഹര വനത്തിൽ വിഹരിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• गन्धमादनम्: Gandhamādana (mountain/forest)
• गन्धमादनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्धमादन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• आसाद्य: having reached/approached
• आसाद्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√सद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having approached/reached’

• पुंस्-कोकिल-कुल-आकुलम्: crowded with flocks of male cuckoos
• पुंस्-कोकिल-कुल-आकुलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुंस् (प्रातिपदिक) + कोकिल (प्रातिपदिक) + कुल (प्रातिपदिक) + आकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (गन्धमादनम्)

• चचार: wandered
• चचार: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √चर् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• माधवः: Mādhava (Vishnu/Krishna)
• माधवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माधव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन

• रम्यम्: beautiful
• रम्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रम्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (वनपादपम्)

• प्रोत्फुल्ल-वन-पादपम्: a forest-tree in full bloom
• प्रोत्फुल्ल-वन-पादपम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रोत्फुल्ल (प्रातिपदिक) + वन (प्रातिपदिक) + पादप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (वनपादपः = वनस्य पादपः)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (narration continues)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gandhamādana

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (nṛpa) addressed in surrounding narration

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Spring personified as Mādhava moves through Gandhamādana: flowering trees, dense forest-groves, and the clear call of male cuckoos filling the air; a sacred Himalayan woodland suffused with bloom.

Characters & Entities

• Gandhamādana
• Mādhava (Spring)
• Kokila (cuckoo)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even in enchanting surroundings that stimulate the senses, the ascetic ideal is to remain inwardly steady.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gandhamādana is highlighted as a sacred mountain-forest setting, portrayed with auspicious natural beauty.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse offers a sacred-geographic and seasonal atmosphere that frames the forthcoming test.