Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

गात्रैः पुलकितैः सर्वैर्निःश्वासान्निःश्वसन्मुहुः । अग्निवर्णान्सुदीर्घांश्च बाष्प पूर्णविलोचनः

Transliteration

gātraiḥ pulakitaiḥ sarvairniḥśvāsānniḥśvasanmuhuḥ | agnivarṇānsudīrghāṃśca bāṣpa pūrṇavilocanaḥ

Translation

กายทั้งสิ้นของเขาขนพองสยองเกล้า; เขาถอนใจซ้ำแล้วซ้ำเล่า ดวงตาเอ่อด้วยน้ำตา และพ่นลมหายใจยาวร้อนดุจเพลิง

Word by Word

• gātraiḥ: with (his) limbs
• gātraiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• pulakitaiḥ: thrilled, goosefleshed
• pulakitaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pulakita (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying 'gātraiḥ')

• sarvaiḥ: all
• sarvaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying 'gātraiḥ')

• niḥśvāsān: breaths, exhalations
• niḥśvāsān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niḥśvāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• niḥśvasan: exhaling
• niḥśvasan: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: niḥ-√śvas (धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ/Present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणभावे (while exhaling)

• muhuḥ: repeatedly
• muhuḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: muhuḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: repeatedly/again and again)

• agni-varṇān: fire-colored
• agni-varṇān: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: agni (प्रातिपदिक) + varṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (अग्नेः इव वर्णः), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying implied 'niḥśvāsān')

• su-dīrghān: very long
• su-dīrghān: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + dīrgha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying implied 'niḥśvāsān')

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• bāṣpa-pūrṇa-vilocanaḥ: whose eyes were full of tears
• bāṣpa-pūrṇa-vilocanaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bāṣpa (प्रातिपदिक) + pūrṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + vilocana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (बाष्पेण पूर्णे विलोचने यस्य), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying 'saḥ' understood)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in Nāgara-khaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close depiction of Kāma’s afflicted body: gooseflesh, repeated sighs, tear-filled eyes, and long hot breaths like fire; the forest around him seems to echo his heat and sorrow.

Characters & Entities

• Kāmadeva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It portrays kāma as a consuming force that agitates body and mind—implying the dharmic need to master impulses rather than be mastered by them.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it is part of a tīrtha-māhātmya chapter’s storyline.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated; it is descriptive (lakṣaṇa) rather than prescriptive.