Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 83

Devanagari script

सप्तरक्ता त्रिगंभीरा गूढगुल्फा कृशोदरी । तां दृष्ट्वा मन्मथाविष्टः संजातोऽहं मुनीश्वर

Transliteration

saptaraktā trigaṃbhīrā gūḍhagulphā kṛśodarī | tāṃ dṛṣṭvā manmathāviṣṭaḥ saṃjāto'haṃ munīśvara

Translation

അവൾ സപ്തരക്തിമ കാന്തിയാൽ ദീപ്തയായി, ത്രിഭംഗി ലാവണ്യത്തോടെ മനോഹരയായി, ഗൂഢഗുല്ഫയുമായി കൃശോദരിയായി നിലകൊണ്ടു; അവളെ കണ്ടപ്പോൾ, ഹേ മുനീശ്വരാ, ഞാൻ കാമാവേശത്തിൽ ആകപ്പെട്ടു।

Word by Word

• saptaraktā: (having) sevenfold redness / very red
• saptaraktā: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta + rakta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (संख्यापूर्वक): “sapta-raktā” (sevenfold-red/very red; epithet)

• trigaṃbhīrā: threefold deep / very deep
• trigaṃbhīrā: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri + gaṃbhīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास: “tri-gaṃbhīrā” (threefold deep/very deep)

• gūḍhagulphā: with compact/hidden ankles
• gūḍhagulphā: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gūḍha + gulpha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय: “gūḍhau gulphau yasyāḥ” (with well-hidden/compact ankles)

• kṛśodarī: slender-bellied
• kṛśodarī: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛśa + udarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय: “kṛśaṃ udaraṃ yasyāḥ” (slender-waisted)

• tām: her
• tām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (सर्वनाम), द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dṛś (धातु) → dṛṣṭvā (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्यय (absolutive/gerund) = “having seen”

• manmathāviṣṭaḥ: possessed by love (Cupid-struck)
• manmathāviṣṭaḥ: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: manmatha + āviṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: “manmathena āviṣṭaḥ” (possessed by Cupid); āviṣṭa = क्त (from ā-viś)

• saṃjātaḥ: arose/became
• saṃjātaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु) → saṃjāta (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त (past participle) used predicatively with implied ‘asmi’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• munīśvara: O lord of sages
• munīśvara: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: “munīnām īśvaraḥ” (lord of sages)

Speaker

An unnamed narrator addressing a sage (munīśvara) within the Tīrthamāhātmya narrative

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: munīśvara (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Viśālākṣī is described with poetic bodily markers (radiance, triple curves, well-formed ankles, slender waist); the narrator’s face shows sudden agitation—Kāma’s arrow striking amid the calm of the hermitage.

Characters & Entities

• Manmatha
• Munīśvara
• Viśālākṣī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even in sacred settings, desire can arise; dharma requires vigilance and self-mastery.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse remains within the Himalayan hermitage context; the tīrtha is implicit through the ascetic environment.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse narrates an inner disturbance (kāma) that will shape subsequent actions.