Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

लतेव च्छिन्नमूला सा चक्रीव प्रियविच्युता । शुचिशुक्लागमे काले सरसीव गतोदका

Transliteration

lateva cchinnamūlā sā cakrīva priyavicyutā | śuciśuklāgame kāle sarasīva gatodakā

Translation

அவள் வேரறுத்த கொடிபோல், பிரியனைப் பிரிந்த சக்கரவாகப் பெண்பறவைபோல்; தூய வெண்மைக் காலம் வந்தபோது நீர் வற்றிய குளம்போல் ஆனாள்.

Word by Word

• लता: a creeper
• लता: Upamāna (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• इव: like/as
• इव: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्यय (comparative particle)

• च्छिन्नमूला: with roots cut off
• च्छिन्नमूला: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: च्छिन्न (कृदन्त; √छिद्) + मूल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (root-cut + root)

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (pronoun)

• चक्रि: a wheel (rolling one)
• चक्रि: Upamāna (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्रिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• इव: like/as
• इव: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्यय (comparative particle)

• प्रियविच्युता: separated from her beloved
• प्रियविच्युता: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक) + विच्युत (कृदन्त; √च्युत्/√च्यु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (from the beloved)

• शुचिशुक्लागमे: at the coming of the bright/pure season
• शुचिशुक्लागमे: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुचि (प्रातिपदिक) + शुक्ल (प्रातिपदिक) + आगम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (śuci-śukla-āgama = coming of bright/pure [season])

• काले: in the time
• काले: Adhikaraṇa (Time locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सरसी: a lake
• सरसी: Upamāna (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• इव: like/as
• इव: Sambandha (Comparative marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्यय (comparative particle)

• गतोदका: whose water has gone (dried up)
• गतोदका: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गत (कृदन्त; √गम्) + उदक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (water-gone)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sorrow-stricken woman stands drained of vitality: a severed creeper droops, a lone cakravāka bird calls across water, and a lakebed lies cracked and empty under a bright, dry season sky—visual metaphors surrounding her still figure.

Characters & Entities

• Sāvitrī (implied continuation)
• Cakravāka (cakrī)
• Latā (creeper)
• Sarasī (lake)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Attachment and separation are shown as powerful forces even in mythic lives, urging the listener toward steadiness in dharma amid emotional upheaval.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha is framed by the chapter’s sacred narrative; this verse itself is primarily poetic and does not specify a geographic tīrtha-name.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a descriptive verse emphasizing the intensity of separation (viraha).