Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

नारीणां तु सदा कामो ह्यधिकः परिवर्तते । विशेषेण ऋतोः काले भिद्यते कामसायकैः

Transliteration

nārīṇāṃ tu sadā kāmo hyadhikaḥ parivartate | viśeṣeṇa ṛtoḥ kāle bhidyate kāmasāyakaiḥ

Translation

ନାରୀମାନଙ୍କର କାମନା ସଦା ଅଧିକ ଓ ପୁନଃପୁନଃ ପରିବର୍ତ୍ତିତ ହୁଏ; ବିଶେଷକରି ଋତୁକାଳରେ ତାହା କାମବାଣରେ ବିଦ୍ଧ ହେବା ପରି ଉଦ୍ଦୀପ୍ତ ହୁଏ।

Word by Word

• nārīṇām: of women
• nārīṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• tu: but, indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle/conjunction): contrast/emphasis ‘but/indeed’

• sadā: always
• sadā: Sambandha (Adverbial relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘always’

• kāmaḥ: desire, lust
• kāmaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle): emphasis/causal nuance ‘indeed/for’

• adhikaḥ: greater, excessive
• adhikaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying kāmaḥ)

• parivartate: turns about, changes, increases/varies
• parivartate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√vṛt (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• viśeṣeṇa: especially
• viśeṣeṇa: Sambandha (Adverbial manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषण-भावे (instrumental used adverbially)

• ṛtoḥ: of the season/period (of fertility)
• ṛtoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛtu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• kāle: at the time
• kāle: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• bhidyate: is pierced, is affected
• bhidyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhid (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive), आत्मनेपद

• kāma-sāyakaiḥ: by the arrows of desire
• kāma-sāyakaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक) + sāyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास = ‘arrows of desire’

Speaker

Narrator of Revā Khaṇḍa (deduced; explicit speaker not in snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A woman in a springtime grove feels the stirring of desire; Kāma’s unseen arrows are symbolized by floral darts; the scene is framed as moral psychology rather than celebration.

Characters & Entities

• Kāma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It contextualizes household ethics by describing ṛtukāla as a time of heightened desire, implying the need for dharmic sensitivity and responsibility.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named; the verse sits within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s Narmadā-centered discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is stated; it provides explanatory background for the preceding dharma instruction.