Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

कस्मिंश्चित्समये पापी मांसार्थी तु वनं गतः । ददर्श प्रमदां तत्र मातंगीं मदिरेक्षणाम्

Transliteration

kasmiṃścitsamaye pāpī māṃsārthī tu vanaṃ gataḥ | dadarśa pramadāṃ tatra mātaṃgīṃ madirekṣaṇām

Translation

ഒരു സമയത്ത് ആ പാപി മാംസലോഭത്തോടെ വനത്തിലേക്ക് പോയി. അവിടെ മദിരാനയനയായ മാതംഗീ യുവതിയെ അവൻ കണ്ടു.

Word by Word

• कस्मिन्: in which
• कस्मिन्: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक (interrogative pronoun)

• चित्: some/any
• चित्: सम्बन्ध/विशेषण (Particle modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चित् (अव्यय-प्रत्यय/particle)
• Form: अव्यय; अनिश्चितार्थक-निपात (indefinite particle)

• समये: at a time
• समये: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• पापी: a sinner
• पापी: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पापिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• मांसार्थी: desiring meat
• मांसार्थी: कर्ता (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मांस (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (genitive determinative): 'मांसस्य अर्थी'

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: सम्बन्ध (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधार्थक-निपात (emphatic/contrastive particle)

• वनम्: to the forest
• वनम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• गतः: gone
• गतः: कर्ता (Predicate/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु) → गत (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकालिक-विशेषण (past participle)

• ददर्श: saw
• ददर्श: क्रिया (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/लिट्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• प्रमदाम्: a woman
• प्रमदाम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रमदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: अधिकरण (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• मातङ्गीम्: Mātaṅgī (a woman of Mātaṅga tribe)
• मातङ्गीम्: कर्म (Object apposition/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मातङ्गी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• मदिरेक्षणाम्: with intoxicating eyes
• मदिरेक्षणाम्: कर्म-विशेषण (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मदिरा (प्रातिपदिक) + ईक्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि: 'मदिरे इक्षणे यस्याः सा' (having wine-like eyes)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced: Purāṇic narration within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dense forest scene: the man with a hunting knife/bow moves stealthily; ahead stands a Mātaṅgī maiden with wine-like eyes; the moment is charged—stillness before transgression.

Characters & Entities

• Mātaṅgī
• forest

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unrestrained appetite and desire lead one toward situations that deepen delusion and pāpa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is directly praised in this verse; it is part of a larger Māhātmya narrative arc.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is descriptive, setting up a moral consequence narrative.