Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

विद्याधरगृहीतां तां ददृशुर्मु निकन्यकाम् । विद्याधरसुतं चान्यमंतिके समुपस्थितम्

Transliteration

vidyādharagṛhītāṃ tāṃ dadṛśurmu nikanyakām | vidyādharasutaṃ cānyamaṃtike samupasthitam

Translation

അവർ ഒരു വിദ്യാധരൻ പിടിച്ചിരുത്തിയ ആ മുനികന്യയെ കണ്ടു; കൂടാതെ സമീപത്ത് മറ്റൊരാൾ—വിദ്യാധരപുത്രൻ—അടുത്തായി നിൽക്കുന്നതും കണ്ടു.

Word by Word

• विद्याधरगृहीताम्: seized by a Vidyādhara
• विद्याधरगृहीताम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विद्याधर (प्रातिपदिक) + गृहीत (ग्रह् धातु, क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषसमासः—‘विद्याधरेण गृहीता’ (taken by a Vidyādhara)

• ताम्: her
• ताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• ददृशुः: they saw
• ददृशुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; perfect: ‘they saw’

• मु: indeed (particle)
• मु: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), पदपूरण/अवधारणार्थक (emphatic/expletive)

• निकन्यकाम्: a young maiden
• निकन्यकाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नि (उपसर्ग) + कन्यका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; ‘कन्यका’ with intensifying prefix नि- (very young maiden)

• विद्याधरसुतम्: Vidyādhara’s son
• विद्याधरसुतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विद्याधर (प्रातिपदिक) + सुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘विद्याधरस्य सुतः’)

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

• अन्यम्: another
• अन्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• अन्तिके: nearby
• अन्तिके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचनरूपेण अव्ययीभूत (locative used adverbially): ‘near’

• समुपस्थितम्: present/standing close
• समुपस्थितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-उप-स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृदन्त: ‘having approached/standing present’

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator in Setukhaṇḍa context; likely Sūta/compilation voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setu-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sages arrive to see a distressed maiden being seized by a Vidyādhara; nearby stands another youthful Vidyādhara figure, witnessing or complicit, creating tension and moral focus.

Characters & Entities

• Vidyādhara
• Munikanyā (sage’s daughter)
• Vidyādhara-suta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Misuse of power against the innocent—especially within sacred spaces and ascetic communities—invites swift dharmic consequence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The incident unfolds within Setu-kṣetra, the pilgrimage landscape praised in the Setukhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual instruction appears here; the verse establishes the wrongdoing that triggers a curse and moral correction.