Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

युवा बहुकलत्रोऽपि कामासक्तोऽजितेंद्रियः । इमां पापीयसीं चेष्टां पुनरेकां गतोऽस्म्यहम्

Transliteration

yuvā bahukalatro'pi kāmāsakto'jiteṃdriyaḥ | imāṃ pāpīyasīṃ ceṣṭāṃ punarekāṃ gato'smyaham

Translation

اگرچہ میں جوان تھا اور میری بہت سی بیویاں تھیں، پھر بھی میں ہوس کا غلام تھا اور میرے حواس بے قابو تھے۔ میں نے دوبارہ اس انتہائی گناہ گار راستے کو اختیار کیا۔

Word by Word

• yuvā: a young man / I (as) young
• yuvā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuvan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• bahu-kalatraḥ: having many wives
• bahu-kalatraḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + kalatra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/विशेषणार्थः (having many wives)

• api: even though
• api: Sambandha/Avyaya (particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अर्थः ‘even/although’

• kāma-āsaktaḥ: attached to lust
• kāma-āsaktaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक) + āsakta (कृदन्त; √sañj/√asaj ‘to cling’ past participle)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषभावः—‘कामे आसक्तः’

• ajita-indriyaḥ: one with uncontrolled senses
• ajita-indriyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-jita (कृदन्त; √ji ‘to conquer’ + नञ्) + indriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—‘अजितानि इन्द्रियाणि यस्य’ (one whose senses are unconquered)

• imām: this
• imām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• pāpīyasīm: more sinful / very wicked
• pāpīyasīm: Viśeṣaṇa (of ceṣṭām)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpīyas (प्रातिपदिक; comparative of pāpa)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• ceṣṭām: conduct, act
• ceṣṭām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ceṣṭā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• punar: again
• punar: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• ekām: one (single)
• ekām: Viśeṣaṇa (of ceṣṭām)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘ceṣṭām’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• gataḥ: gone, fallen into
• gataḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु) + kta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगे ‘gone/entered’

• asmi: am
• asmi: Kriyā (Copula)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तम-पुरुष (1st person), एकवचन

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aham (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Rākṣasa

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A remorseful king/nobleman in a dim palace chamber, head bowed, hands in añjali, recalling his uncontrolled youth and sinful pursuit; shadows of inner apartments suggest moral confinement and regret.

Characters & Entities

• Rākṣasa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unrestrained desire (kāma) and uncontrolled senses lead repeatedly to sin; dharma begins with inner mastery.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No sacred site is praised in this verse; it is a cautionary moral narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the implied discipline is indriya-nigraha (sense-restraint).