Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 144

Devanagari script

ततः सर्वाः प्रकृतयो हृष्टपुष्टजनावृताः । गच्छंतमनुगच्छंतिराघवं गुणरंजिताः

Transliteration

tataḥ sarvāḥ prakṛtayo hṛṣṭapuṣṭajanāvṛtāḥ | gacchaṃtamanugacchaṃtirāghavaṃ guṇaraṃjitāḥ

Translation

मग आनंदित व समृद्ध जनसमूहाने वेढलेल्या सर्व प्रजा, त्याच्या गुणांनी रंजित होऊन, चाललेल्या राघवाच्या मागे चालू लागल्या।

Word by Word

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — तस्मात्/तदनन्तरम् (thereafter)

• सर्वाः: all
• सर्वाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — विशेषण (feminine nominative plural)

• प्रकृतयः: the people (subjects)
• प्रकृतयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रकृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — ‘प्रजा/जनसमूहाः’ (feminine nominative plural)

• हृष्टपुष्टजनावृताः: surrounded by joyful, thriving people
• हृष्टपुष्टजनावृताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हृष्ट (कृदन्त/विशेषण) + पुष्ट (कृदन्त/विशेषण) + जन (प्रातिपदिक) + आवृत (कृदन्त, √वृ ‘to cover’ + आ-)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — समासः: (हृष्ट-पुष्ट-जनैः) आवृताः = तृतीया-तत्पुरुष; ‘हृष्टैः पुष्टैः जनैः आवृताः’ (covered/surrounded by joyful and well-nourished people)

• गच्छन्तम्: the one who was going
• गच्छन्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गच्छत् (कृदन्त, वर्तमानकृदन्त; √गम् ‘to go’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — वर्तमानकृदन्त; कर्मपद-विशेषण (accusative singular, ‘going’)

• अनुगच्छन्ति: they follow
• अनुगच्छन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनुगच्छति (धातु √गम् ‘to go’ + अनु-)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमानकाल), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन — परस्मैपद (they follow)

• राघवम्: Rāghava (Rama)
• राघवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राघव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — कर्म (accusative singular)

• गुणरञ्जिताः: delighted by (his) virtues
• गुणरञ्जिताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गुण (प्रातिपदिक) + रञ्जित (कृदन्त, √रञ्ज् ‘to delight/color’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — समासः: गुणैः रञ्जिताः (तृतीया-तत्पुरुष); ‘गुणैः आनन्दिताः/आकृष्टाः’ (delighted by virtues)

Speaker

Brahmā to Nārada (deduced for Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ayodhyā

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrim-audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast, joyful crowd—healthy, well-fed, brightly dressed—surrounds the moving figure of Rāma; banners, garlands, and the sense of a city pouring out, captivated by virtue rather than spectacle.

Characters & Entities

• Rāghava (Rāma)
• Subjects of Ayodhyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Virtue (guṇa) has spiritual magnetism—when dharma is embodied, society naturally moves toward it.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ayodhyā, idealized as a sacred city where the populace flourishes under dharma and is drawn to Rāma.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the focus is on the ethical-spiritual power of guṇa and the collective movement toward dharma.