Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

आसुरीं दानवीं दैवीं यक्षिणीं किंनरीं तथा । विद्याधरीं च गन्धर्वीं नागकन्यां मनोरमाम् । एता वरस्त्रियस्त्यक्त्वा युष्मदीयासु तास्वपि

Transliteration

āsurīṃ dānavīṃ daivīṃ yakṣiṇīṃ kiṃnarīṃ tathā | vidyādharīṃ ca gandharvīṃ nāgakanyāṃ manoramām | etā varastriyastyaktvā yuṣmadīyāsu tāsvapi

Translation

அசுரி, தானவி, தேவி, யக்ஷிணி, கின்னரி, வித்யாதரி, கந்தர்வி அல்லது மனோகரமான நாககன்னி—இத்தகைய சிறந்த பெண்களை விட்டு—உங்கள் பெண்களிடமும் அவன் எவ்வாறு இன்புறுவான்?

Word by Word

• āsurīm: an Asurī (demoness)
• āsurīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āsurī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्म (list item)

• dānavīm: a Dānavī
• dānavīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dānavī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• daivīm: a divine woman
• daivīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daivī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• yakṣiṇīm: a Yakṣiṇī
• yakṣiṇīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yakṣiṇī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• kiṃnarīm: a Kiṃnarī
• kiṃnarīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kiṃnarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• tathā: and also
• tathā: Sambandha/Avyaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय/अनुक्रम (also/likewise)

• vidyādharīm: a Vidyādharī
• vidyādharīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidyādhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha/Avyaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• gandharvīm: a Gandharvī
• gandharvīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gandharvī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• nāga-kanyām: a Nāga-maiden
• nāga-kanyām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāga (प्रातिपदिक) + kanyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (nāgānāṃ kanyā), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• manoramām: charming
• manoramām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: manoramā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; agrees with nāga-kanyām (and/or the list)

• etāḥ: these (women)
• etāḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; object of tyaktvā

• vara-striyaḥ: excellent women
• vara-striyaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक) + strī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (varāḥ striyaḥ), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; in apposition to etāḥ

• tyaktvā: having abandoned
• tyaktvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √tyaj (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्यय; पूर्वकाल (having abandoned)

• yuṣmadīyāsu: among your (women)
• yuṣmadīyāsu: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yuṣmadīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), बहुवचन; possessive adjective (your) qualifying implied strīṣu

• tāsu: among those
• tāsu: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), बहुवचन; refers to yuṣmadīyāsu (women)

• api: even/also
• api: Sambandha/Avyaya (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अपि (also/even)

Speaker

Brahmā

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A speaker contrasts many classes of enchanting non-human maidens—Asurī, Dānavī, Devī, Yakṣiṇī, Kiṃnarī, Vidyādharī, Gandharvī, Nāga-kanyā—implying that even such splendor is forsaken; the scene is rhetorical, courtly, and charged with restrained sensuality.

Characters & Entities

• Yakṣiṇī
• Kiṃnarī
• Vidyādharī
• Gandharvī
• Nāgakanyā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Baseless suspicion of the divine is irrational; purāṇic rhetoric exposes the folly of envy-driven accusations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, where the narrative frames moral discernment within a sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is argumentative instruction within the story.