Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

यावत्स चलितो विप्रः शौचं कृत्वा प्रयत्नतः । तावन्मृगी समायाता दृष्ट्वा पुष्पवनांतरात्

Transliteration

yāvatsa calito vipraḥ śaucaṃ kṛtvā prayatnataḥ | tāvanmṛgī samāyātā dṛṣṭvā puṣpavanāṃtarāt

Translation

ครั้นพราหมณ์นั้นเคลื่อนจากไปแล้ว กระทำการชำระกายด้วยความเพียร ณ ขณะนั้นเอง แม่กวางตัวหนึ่งก็เข้ามา เมื่อแลเห็นจากภายในพฤกษาสวนดอกไม้

Word by Word

• यावत्: as long as / until
• यावत्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (प्रातिपदिक/अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; यावत्-तावत्-सम्बन्धे काल/परिमाणवाचक

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• चलितः: moved / proceeded
• चलितः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चल् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• विप्रः: the brahmin
• विप्रः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• शौचम्: purification/cleansing
• शौचम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शौच (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• कृत्वा: having done
• कृत्वा: Kriya (क्रिया-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभाव (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• प्रयत्नतः: with effort / carefully
• प्रयत्नतः: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रयत्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb)

• तावत्: then / for that long
• तावत्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; यावत्-तावत्-सम्बन्धे

• मृगी: a doe
• मृगी: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृगी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• समायाता: came/approached
• समायाता: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+आ+या (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya (क्रिया-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभाव (gerund)

• पुष्पवनान्तरात्: from within the flower-grove
• पुष्पवनान्तरात्: Apadana (अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्प + वन + अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (पुष्पवनस्य अन्तरम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन

Speaker

Mṛgī (doe / woman born from a doe)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kanyaka-vana Puṣpavana (narrative sub-spot)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The sage departs after careful purification; immediately a doe emerges from a flowering grove, drawn to the spot—depicted as a gentle, fated approach amid blossoms.

Characters & Entities

• Vipra (brāhmaṇa)
• Mṛgī (doe)
• Puṣpavana (flower-grove)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity practices (śauca) and the natural world are woven together in Purāṇic narrative to show dharma operating in ordinary moments.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named; the verse describes a forest-grove setting within the larger māhātmya narration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śauca (purificatory practice) is mentioned descriptively, not as an instruction for the listener.