Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

गन्धश्च सुरभिः सद्यो वनराजिसमुद्भवः । किन्नरोरगयक्षाणां बभूव घ्राणतर्पणः

Transliteration

gandhaśca surabhiḥ sadyo vanarājisamudbhavaḥ | kinnaroragayakṣāṇāṃ babhūva ghrāṇatarpaṇaḥ

Translation

ഉടൻ തന്നെ വനവീഥികളിൽ നിന്ന് സുമധുരമായ സുഗന്ധം ഉയർന്നു; അത് കിന്നരന്മാർക്കും നാഗന്മാർക്കും യക്ഷന്മാർക്കും ഘ്രാണേന്ദ്രിയതൃപ്തിയായി।

Word by Word

• गन्धः: fragrance
• गन्धः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• सुरभिः: fragrant
• सुरभिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुरभि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (गन्धः)

• सद्यः: immediately
• सद्यः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सद्यः (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• वन-राजि-समुद्भवः: arisen from the rows of forest (trees)
• वन-राजि-समुद्भवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक) + राजि (प्रातिपदिक) + सम्-उद्-√भू (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (गन्धः); (वनराजेः समुद्भवः)

• किन्नर-उरग-यक्षाणाम्: of the Kinnaras, serpents, and Yakṣas
• किन्नर-उरग-यक्षाणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किन्नर (प्रातिपदिक) + उरग (प्रातिपदिक) + यक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व

• बभूव: became
• बभूव: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• घ्राण-तर्पणः: satisfying to the nose
• घ्राण-तर्पणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घ्राण (प्रातिपदिक) + तर्पण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (गन्धः); (घ्राणस्य तर्पणः)

Speaker

Deductive (Revā Khaṇḍa narrative frame; likely a Purāṇic narrator addressing a king—note vocative 'nṛpa' in nearby verses)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gandhamādana

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (nṛpa) in frame narrative

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visible ‘wave’ of fragrance seems to rise from patterned forest-groves; Kinnaras, Nāgas, and Yakṣas appear at the margins, inhaling with delight amid blossoms and incense-like air.

Characters & Entities

• Kinnara
• Uraga (Nāga)
• Yakṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Auspicious sensory signs—like divine fragrance—often accompany sanctity and yogic presence, indicating a purified sacred environment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā Khaṇḍa context points to the sacred Revā (Narmadā) region and its forested holy landscape, though this verse highlights the grove-atmosphere rather than naming a single tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is descriptive, portraying auspicious phenomena in a sacred setting.