Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

काचिदादित्यवर्णाभा प्रसुप्ता तु प्रियोपरि । अग्निज्वालाहता गाढं कंठमालिङ्गते नृप

Transliteration

kācidādityavarṇābhā prasuptā tu priyopari | agnijvālāhatā gāḍhaṃ kaṃṭhamāliṅgate nṛpa

Translation

ഹേ നൃപാ! സൂര്യവർണ്ണാഭയായ മറ്റൊരു സ്ത്രീ പ്രിയന്റെ മേൽ നിദ്രിച്ചു; അഗ്നിജ്വാലകളാൽ ബാധിക്കപ്പെട്ടിട്ടും അവന്റെ കഴുത്തിനെ കട്ടിയായി ആലിംഗനം ചെയ്തു നിന്നു.

Word by Word

• kācit: some (woman)
• kācit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• āditya-varṇa-ābhā: sun-colored, radiant
• āditya-varṇa-ābhā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: āditya (प्रातिपदिक) + varṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + ābhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘आदित्यवर्णस्य आभा यस्याः सा’

• prasuptā: fast asleep
• prasuptā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra + √svap (धातु)
• Form: क्त (PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषबोधक अव्यय (particle)

• priya-upari: upon her beloved
• priya-upari: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: priya (प्रातिपदिक) + upari (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमासः; अव्ययरूपेण प्रयोगः (locative sense): ‘प्रियस्य उपरि’

• agni-jvālā-hatā: struck by flames of fire
• agni-jvālā-hatā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: agni (प्रातिपदिक) + jvālā (प्रातिपदिक) + √han (धातु)
• Form: क्त (PPP) ‘हत’, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘अग्निज्वालाभिः हता’

• gāḍham: tightly
• gāḍham: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: gāḍha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण अव्यय (adverbial)

• kaṃṭham: neck
• kaṃṭham: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaṃṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• āliṅgate: embraces
• āliṅgate: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + √liṅg/√liṅg (धातु; आलिङ्ग्)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• nṛpa: O king
• nṛpa: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual purāṇic narration within Revā Khaṇḍa; exact speaker not stated in the snippet)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sun-bright woman asleep upon her beloved, arms around his neck; flames lick around them, freezing a moment of intimacy in catastrophe.

Characters & Entities

• nṛpa (king) (addressee)
• agni (fire)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even amid destruction, attachment and love bind the mind; the Purāṇic gaze encourages remembrance of dharma and the impermanence of embodied life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The narrative belongs to the Revā (Narmadā) milieu of the Skanda Purāṇa’s Revā Khaṇḍa; no single tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse.