Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

प्रवाहेनेव हारेण सुरनद्या विराजिता । कल्पद्रुमप्रसूनैश्च पूर्णावतंसमंडिता

Transliteration

pravāheneva hāreṇa suranadyā virājitā | kalpadrumaprasūnaiśca pūrṇāvataṃsamaṃḍitā

Translation

وہ دیوتاؤں کی ندی کی طرح جگمگا رہی تھی، گویا بہتے ہوئے ہار سے آراستہ ہو؛ اور کلپ درخت کے پھولوں سے بھرے ہوئے مکمل اوتنس (سر کی آرائش) سے نہایت شاندار تھی۔

Word by Word

• pravāhena: with a stream/flow
• pravāhena: Upamāna-karaṇa (Instrument in simile)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pravāha (प्रवाह) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया; एकवचन

• iva: like
• iva: Upamā-dyotaka (Simile marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (इव) (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमा-सूचक (particle of comparison: like/as)

• hāreṇa: with a necklace/garland
• hāreṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hāra (हार) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया; एकवचन

• suranadyā: with the celestial river
• suranadyā: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (सुर) + nadī (नदी) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया; एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘सुराणां नदी’ (river of the gods)

• virājitā: shone; was resplendent
• virājitā: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Verb
• Root: rāj (राज्) (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle) with उपसर्ग vi-; स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन; ‘shining/illustrious’

• kalpadrumaprasūnaiḥ: with flowers of the kalpa-tree
• kalpadrumaprasūnaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpadruma (कल्पद्रुम) + prasūna (प्रसून) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया; बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘कल्पद्रुमस्य प्रसूनानि’ (flowers of the wish-fulfilling tree)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (च) (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (and)

• pūrṇāvataṃsamaṃḍitā: adorned with full ornaments
• pūrṇāvataṃsamaṃḍitā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective of devī)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrṇa (पूर्ण) + avataṃsa (अवतंस) + maṇḍita (मण्डित) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘पूर्णैः अवतंसैः मण्डिता’ (adorned with full/complete ear-ornaments/chaplets)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa convention)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī’s necklace appears like a flowing stream; her hair/ears crowned with a full wreath of kalpadruma blossoms, suggesting a heavenly garden-river fusion around her form.

Characters & Entities

• Bhagavatī (Devī)
• Suranadī (celestial river)
• Kalpadruma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine beauty is presented as a sacred revelation (darśana) that inspires devotion and surrender.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as a mahātmya-style theophany description within the narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse supports bhakti through contemplative remembrance of the Devī’s form.