Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

नारीणां तु सदा कामो ह्यधिकः परिवर्तते । विशेषेण ऋतोः काले भिद्यते कामसायकैः

Transliteration

nārīṇāṃ tu sadā kāmo hyadhikaḥ parivartate | viśeṣeṇa ṛtoḥ kāle bhidyate kāmasāyakaiḥ

Translation

عورتوں میں خواہش ہمیشہ زیادہ اور بار بار پلٹنے والی کہی گئی ہے؛ اور خاص طور پر ایامِ زرخیزی میں وہ گویا عشق کے تیروں سے چھلنی ہو کر بھڑک اٹھتی ہے۔

Word by Word

• nārīṇām: of women
• nārīṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• tu: but, indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle/conjunction): contrast/emphasis ‘but/indeed’

• sadā: always
• sadā: Sambandha (Adverbial relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘always’

• kāmaḥ: desire, lust
• kāmaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle): emphasis/causal nuance ‘indeed/for’

• adhikaḥ: greater, excessive
• adhikaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying kāmaḥ)

• parivartate: turns about, changes, increases/varies
• parivartate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√vṛt (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• viśeṣeṇa: especially
• viśeṣeṇa: Sambandha (Adverbial manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषण-भावे (instrumental used adverbially)

• ṛtoḥ: of the season/period (of fertility)
• ṛtoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛtu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• kāle: at the time
• kāle: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• bhidyate: is pierced, is affected
• bhidyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhid (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive), आत्मनेपद

• kāma-sāyakaiḥ: by the arrows of desire
• kāma-sāyakaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक) + sāyaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास = ‘arrows of desire’

Speaker

Narrator of Revā Khaṇḍa (deduced; explicit speaker not in snippet)

Characters & Entities

• Kāma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It contextualizes household ethics by describing ṛtukāla as a time of heightened desire, implying the need for dharmic sensitivity and responsibility.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named; the verse sits within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s Narmadā-centered discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is stated; it provides explanatory background for the preceding dharma instruction.