Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

एवमुक्ता वरारोहा स्त्रीस्वभावात्सुचञ्चला । मनसाध्याय शक्रं सा कामेन कलुषीकृता

Transliteration

evamuktā varārohā strīsvabhāvātsucañcalā | manasādhyāya śakraṃ sā kāmena kaluṣīkṛtā

Translation

یوں کہے جانے پر وہ خوش اندام عورت، عورتانہ فطرت کی چنچلتا سے، دل میں شکر (اندر) کا خیال کرنے لگی؛ خواہش نے اسے باطن میں آلودہ کر دیا۔

Word by Word

• evam: thus
• evam: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, प्रकारवाचक (adverb)

• uktā: addressed/spoken to
• uktā: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vac (धातु) → ukta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्तः (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; कर्मणि—‘(सा) उक्ता’ = having been spoken to

• vara-ārohā: the fair-hipped woman
• vara-ārohā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक) + āroha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; कर्मधारयः

• strī-svabhāvāt: due to womanly nature
• strī-svabhāvāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक) + svabhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः—‘स्त्रियाः स्वभावः’

• su-cañcalā: very fickle
• su-cañcalā: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (प्रातिपदिक-पूर्वपद) + cañcala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; कर्मधारयः

• manasā: with (her) mind
• manasā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया, एकवचनम्

• dhyāya: having thought/meditated on
• dhyāya: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhyai (धातु)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त-अव्ययभावः (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपद-आधारः; ‘ध्यानं कृत्वा’

• śakram: Śakra (Indra)
• śakram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; सर्वनाम-रूपम्

• kāmena: by desire/lust
• kāmena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया, एकवचनम्

• kaluṣī-kṛtā: made impure/tainted
• kaluṣī-kṛtā: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kaluṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛ (धातु) → kṛta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्तः (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; नामधातु-प्रयोगः/कृदन्त-समासः—‘कaluṣī (स्त्री-भाव) कृतā’ = made impure

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic storyteller voice; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in broader Skanda Purāṇa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Ahalyā, stirred by Indra’s words, turns inward; her face shows wavering, and a subtle dark veil symbolizes kāma-kaluṣa entering the heart.

Characters & Entities

• Ahalyā
• Śakra (Indra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse stresses that moral decline begins in the mind: when desire dominates inner contemplation, it ‘stains’ consciousness before any outward act.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is praised in this verse; it is part of the Revā Khaṇḍa’s narrative setting linked to the sanctity of the Revā/Narmadā region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the implied dharma is inner restraint and mental purity.