Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

प्रवाहेनेव हारेण सुरनद्या विराजिता । कल्पद्रुमप्रसूनैश्च पूर्णावतंसमंडिता

Transliteration

pravāheneva hāreṇa suranadyā virājitā | kalpadrumaprasūnaiśca pūrṇāvataṃsamaṃḍitā

Translation

അവൾ ദേവനദിപോലെ വിരാജിച്ചു, പ്രവാഹംപോലെയുള്ള ഹാരം ധരിച്ചതുപോലെ; കൽപവൃക്ഷപുഷ്പങ്ങളാൽ നിറഞ്ഞ ആവതംസങ്ങളാൽ (കർണപുഷ്പാഭരണങ്ങളാൽ) സുസജ്ജിതയായി।

Word by Word

• pravāhena: with a stream/flow
• pravāhena: Upamāna-karaṇa (Instrument in simile)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pravāha (प्रवाह) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया; एकवचन

• iva: like
• iva: Upamā-dyotaka (Simile marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (इव) (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमा-सूचक (particle of comparison: like/as)

• hāreṇa: with a necklace/garland
• hāreṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hāra (हार) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया; एकवचन

• suranadyā: with the celestial river
• suranadyā: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (सुर) + nadī (नदी) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया; एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘सुराणां नदी’ (river of the gods)

• virājitā: shone; was resplendent
• virājitā: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: rāj (राज्) (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle) with उपसर्ग vi-; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन; ‘shining/illustrious’

• kalpadrumaprasūnaiḥ: with flowers of the kalpa-tree
• kalpadrumaprasūnaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpadruma (कल्पद्रुम) + prasūna (प्रसून) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘कल्पद्रुमस्य प्रसूनानि’ (flowers of the wish-fulfilling tree)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (च) (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (and)

• pūrṇāvataṃsamaṃḍitā: adorned with full ornaments
• pūrṇāvataṃsamaṃḍitā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective of devī)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrṇa (पूर्ण) + avataṃsa (अवतंस) + maṇḍita (मण्डित) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘पूर्णैः अवतंसैः मण्डिता’ (adorned with full/complete ear-ornaments/chaplets)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa convention)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī’s necklace appears like a flowing stream; her hair/ears crowned with a full wreath of kalpadruma blossoms, suggesting a heavenly garden-river fusion around her form.

Characters & Entities

• Bhagavatī (Devī)
• Suranadī (celestial river)
• Kalpadruma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine beauty is presented as a sacred revelation (darśana) that inspires devotion and surrender.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as a mahātmya-style theophany description within the narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse supports bhakti through contemplative remembrance of the Devī’s form.