Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच । तेषां तद्वचनं श्रुत्वा महिषो दानवाधिपः । कामदेव वशं प्राप्तः श्रवणादपि तत्क्षणात्

Transliteration

sūta uvāca | teṣāṃ tadvacanaṃ śrutvā mahiṣo dānavādhipaḥ | kāmadeva vaśaṃ prāptaḥ śravaṇādapi tatkṣaṇāt

Translation

സൂതൻ പറഞ്ഞു—അവരുടെ വാക്കുകൾ കേട്ട ഉടനെ ദാനവാധിപൻ മഹിഷൻ, കേൾവിമാത്രത്താൽ തന്നെ, ക്ഷണത്തിൽ കാമദേവന്റെ വശത്തിലായി.

Word by Word

• sūtaḥ: Sūta
• sūtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• tat: that
• tat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (वचनस्य)

• vacanam: speech, words
• vacanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vacana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु) → śrutvā (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• mahiṣaḥ: Mahiṣa
• mahiṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahiṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• dānavādhipaḥ: lord of the Dānavas
• dānavādhipaḥ: Apposition (Same referent/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dānava (प्रातिपदिक) + adhipa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (dānavānām adhipaḥ)

• kāmadeva: Kāmadeva
• kāmadeva: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (kāma eva devaḥ)

• vaśam: control, sway
• vaśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• prāptaḥ: having come under, attained
• prāptaḥ: Kriya (Predicative action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु) + pra- (उपसर्ग) → prāpta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगे

• śravaṇāt: from hearing
• śravaṇāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śravaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कारक-अव्यय (also/even)

• tatkṣaṇāt: at that very moment
• tatkṣaṇāt: Adhikarana (Time-point/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (tasmin kṣaṇe/ तत्क्षण)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūta narrates: a powerful buffalo-demon king (Mahiṣa) hears the description and is instantly struck by Kāma; his face shifts from pride to yearning, signaling impending aggression.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Mahiṣa
• Dānavas
• Kāmadeva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unchecked desire can seize the mind instantly; dharma requires vigilance even before desire becomes action.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it advances the tīrtha-māhātmya storyline set around the Vindhya region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is a narrative note about kāma arising from hearing.