Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

हर्षसंफुल्लनयनश्चकमे काममोहितः । पूर्णचन्द्राननां तां वै वीक्षमाणो मुहुर्मुहुः

Transliteration

harṣasaṃphullanayanaścakame kāmamohitaḥ | pūrṇacandrānanāṃ tāṃ vai vīkṣamāṇo muhurmuhuḥ

Translation

ആനന്ദത്തിൽ അവന്റെ കണ്ണുകൾ വിരിഞ്ഞു; കാമമോഹത്തിൽ അവൻ അവളിൽ പ്രണയാസക്തനായി. പൂർണ്ണചന്ദ്രസമാന മുഖമുള്ള അവളെ അവൻ വീണ്ടും വീണ്ടും നോക്കി നിന്നു.

Word by Word

• हर्षसंफुल्लनयनः: with eyes blossomed with joy
• हर्षसंफुल्लनयनः: Kartṛ-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हर्ष + संफुल्ल + नयन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: हर्षेण संफुल्ले नयने यस्य (eyes blossomed with joy)

• चकमे: desired/was enamored
• चकमे: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• काममोहितः: bewildered by desire
• काममोहितः: Kartṛ-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काम + मोहित (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (mohita from √मुह्), तत्पुरुष: कामेन मोहितः (deluded by desire)

• पूर्णचन्द्राननाम्: having a full-moon-like face
• पूर्णचन्द्राननाम्: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्ण + चन्द्र + आनन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारय: पूर्णचन्द्र इव आननं यस्याः (moon-like full face)

• ताम्: her
• ताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Nipāta (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निश्चयार्थक/एवकारार्थक particle: indeed)

• वीक्षमाणः: looking at
• वीक्षमाणः: Kartṛ-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √ईक्ष् (धातु) + शानच् (शानच्-प्रत्यय) → वीक्षमाण (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकालिक शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त (present middle participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृविशेषण

• मुहुः: again and again
• मुहुः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मुहुः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb: repeatedly)

• मुहुः: repeatedly
• मुहुः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मुहुः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (पुनरुक्ति for emphasis)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator; specific speaker not explicit in this snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setukṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close-up: Sudarśana’s eyes wide and ‘blossoming’ with delight; he stares again and again at the maiden’s moon-like face, while the sea and sky frame the scene with luminous calm that contrasts his agitation.

Characters & Entities

• Sudarśana (implied)
• the maiden

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It illustrates how kāma (desire) can cloud discernment—an implicit call toward self-restraint and dharmic clarity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Setukṣetra is the overarching sacred landscape of the Setukhaṇḍa, though this verse focuses on the plot.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is psychological and narrative.