Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

अलंबुसायां तस्यां तु जातकामं विलोक्य तम् । वसुं विधूमनामानं शशाप चतुराननः

Transliteration

alaṃbusāyāṃ tasyāṃ tu jātakāmaṃ vilokya tam | vasuṃ vidhūmanāmānaṃ śaśāpa caturānanaḥ

Translation

แต่เมื่อพระจตุรานนะทรงเห็นว่า กามปรารถนาได้เกิดขึ้นในเขาต่อนางอลัมพุสา พระองค์จึงทรงสาปวสุผู้มีนามว่า วิธูมะ

Word by Word

• अलंबुसायाम्: in/with Alambusā
• अलंबुसायाम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अलंबुसा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative/7th), एकवचनम्

• तस्याम्: in her/that (woman)
• तस्याम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative/7th), एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम-शब्दः

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निपातः (indeed/but)

• जातकामम्: with desire arisen
• जातकामम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जात (जन् धातु + क्त) + काम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम्; कर्मधारयः—‘जातः कामः यस्य’ (desire arisen)

• विलोक्य: having looked at
• विलोक्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वि + लोक् (धातु) + ल्यप् (क्त्वा-समकक्ष)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्तम् (gerund)

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम-शब्दः

• वसुम्: Vasu
• वसुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative/2nd), एकवचनम्; नाम (proper noun)

• विधूमनामानम्: named Vidhūma
• विधूमनामानम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विधूम (प्रातिपदिक) + नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘विधूम-नामानम्’ = named Vidhūma (नामधारक)

• शशाप: cursed
• शशाप: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: शप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकारः (Perfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• चतुराननः: the four-faced (Brahmā)
• चतुराननः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + आनन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative/1st), एकवचनम्; बहुव्रीहिः—‘चत्वारि आननानि यस्य’ (four-faced = Brahmā)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Setukhaṇḍa; specific speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijāḥ (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā, four-faced and radiant, perceives desire in Vidhūma toward Alambusā and pronounces a curse, restoring moral order in the assembly.

Characters & Entities

• Alambusā
• Vasu
• Vidhūma
• Brahmā (Caturānana)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When desire violates sacred propriety, divine authority imposes discipline (śāpa) to restore dharmic order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; the passage functions as an etiological moral tale within Setukhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse.