Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

तेनासौ मोहिता पूर्वं दृष्टिदानेन कर्षिता । आद्यं संमोहनं स्त्रीणां चक्रे दृष्टिनिरीक्षणम्

Transliteration

tenāsau mohitā pūrvaṃ dṛṣṭidānena karṣitā | ādyaṃ saṃmohanaṃ strīṇāṃ cakre dṛṣṭinirīkṣaṇam

Translation

അവന്റെ ‘ദൃഷ്ടിദാനം’ കൊണ്ടു അവൾ മുമ്പേ തന്നെ മോഹിതയായി ആകർഷിതയായി. സ്ത്രീകളെ സംമോഹിപ്പിക്കുന്ന ആദ്യ കൃത്യമായി അവൻ വെറും ദൃഷ്ടിനിരീക്ഷണത്തിന്റെ ശക്തി പ്രയോഗിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• tena: by him / by that
• tena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्गः, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; करणम् (by him/thereby)

• asau: she
• asau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adas (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• mोहitā: was deluded
• mोहitā: Predicate (Vidheyāṃśa/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mohita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; muh धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; क्त-प्रत्ययान्तः (deluded)

• pūrvam: previously
• pūrvam: Kāla (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाववत् अव्ययप्रयोगः; कालवाचक-अव्ययम् (formerly/first)

• dṛṣṭi-dānena: by the giving of a glance
• dṛṣṭi-dānena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + dāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (दृष्टेः दानम्)

• karṣitā: was drawn/attracted
• karṣitā: Predicate (Vidheyāṃśa/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: karṣita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; kṛṣ धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; क्त-प्रत्ययान्तः (drawn/attracted)

• ādyam: the first
• ādyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ādya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; 'संमोहनम्' इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• saṃmohanam: bewilderment, enchantment
• saṃmohanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃmohana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• strīṇām: of women
• strīṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्

• cakre: did, performed
• cakre: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकारः (परिपूर्णभूत/परोक्षभूतः), आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथम-पुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• dṛṣṭi-nirīkṣaṇam: the act of looking with the eyes
• dṛṣṭi-nirīkṣaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + nirīkṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (दृष्टेः निरीक्षणम्)

Speaker

Unspecified narrator within the māhātmya (Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa narrative voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A charismatic male figure captivates a woman through a potent glance; her eyes widen, posture softens, and the surrounding crowd senses the shift—an invisible ‘dṛṣṭi-dāna’ spell taking hold.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sense-contact, beginning with the gaze, can become the doorway to delusion; dharma requires vigilance over the mind and senses even in sacred settings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vastrāpathakṣetra, presented within the Prabhāsa sacred geography of the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse functions as moral narration within the site’s māhātmya.