Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 68

Devanagari script

एवं विचार्य बहुधा वर्द्धनी नाम भारत । सर्वासामप्सरसां श्रेष्ठा सर्वाभरणभूषिता

Transliteration

evaṃ vicārya bahudhā varddhanī nāma bhārata | sarvāsāmapsarasāṃ śreṣṭhā sarvābharaṇabhūṣitā

Translation

ഇങ്ങനെ പലവിധം ആലോചിച്ച്, ഹേ ഭാരതാ, അവർ ‘വർദ്ധനീ’ എന്ന പേരുള്ളവളെ തിരഞ്ഞെടുത്തു—അവൾ എല്ലാ അപ്സരസ്സുകളിലും ശ്രേഷ്ഠയും സർവ്വാഭരണങ്ങളാൽ ഭൂഷിതയും ആയിരുന്നു।

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक अव्यय (adverb: thus)

• विचार्य: having deliberated
• विचार्य: Purvakala (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वि-चर् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्यय; धातु: चर् (to move/consider) उपसर्ग: वि- (to deliberate)

• बहुधा: in many ways
• बहुधा: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बहुधा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: in many ways)

• वर्द्धनी: Varddhanī (name of an apsaras)
• वर्द्धनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्द्धनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषनाम

• नाम: by name
• नाम: Sambandha (Apposition marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: नामार्थक अव्यय (particle: by name)

• भारत: O Bhārata
• भारत: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• सर्वासाम्: of all
• सर्वासाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• अप्सरसाम्: of the apsarases
• अप्सरसाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप्सरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• श्रेष्ठा: the best; foremost
• श्रेष्ठा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (predicate adjective)

• सर्वाभरणभूषिता: adorned with all ornaments
• सर्वाभरणभूषिता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व-आभरण-भूषित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP) from √भूष् (to adorn) with उपसर्ग: भूषित; समासः: सर्व + आभरण (all ornaments)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator; likely Sūta-style narration within Brahmakhaṇḍa)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhārata

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Varddhanī is singled out from among the apsarases—she stands centered, richly adorned, while others form a respectful semicircle, indicating her preeminence and selection.

Characters & Entities

• Varddhanī
• Bhārata (addressed)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma emphasizes fitness for duty: the ‘best-suited’ agent is chosen to serve a larger righteous objective.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it continues within the Dharmāraṇya setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates the choosing of Varddhanī.