Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 83

Devanagari script

सप्तरक्ता त्रिगंभीरा गूढगुल्फा कृशोदरी । तां दृष्ट्वा मन्मथाविष्टः संजातोऽहं मुनीश्वर

Transliteration

saptaraktā trigaṃbhīrā gūḍhagulphā kṛśodarī | tāṃ dṛṣṭvā manmathāviṣṭaḥ saṃjāto'haṃ munīśvara

Translation

وہ سات رنگوں کی تابانی سے دمکتی، تین خموں میں دلکش، مضبوط ٹخنوں والی اور باریک کمر تھی۔ اسے دیکھ کر، اے سردارِ رِشیو! میں کام دیو کے غلبے میں آ گیا۔

Word by Word

• saptaraktā: (having) sevenfold redness / very red
• saptaraktā: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta + rakta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (संख्यापूर्वक): “sapta-raktā” (sevenfold-red/very red; epithet)

• trigaṃbhīrā: threefold deep / very deep
• trigaṃbhīrā: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri + gaṃbhīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास: “tri-gaṃbhīrā” (threefold deep/very deep)

• gūḍhagulphā: with compact/hidden ankles
• gūḍhagulphā: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gūḍha + gulpha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय: “gūḍhau gulphau yasyāḥ” (with well-hidden/compact ankles)

• kṛśodarī: slender-bellied
• kṛśodarī: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛśa + udarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारय: “kṛśaṃ udaraṃ yasyāḥ” (slender-waisted)

• tām: her
• tām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (सर्वनाम), द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dṛś (धातु) → dṛṣṭvā (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्यय (absolutive/gerund) = “having seen”

• manmathāviṣṭaḥ: possessed by love (Cupid-struck)
• manmathāviṣṭaḥ: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: manmatha + āviṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: “manmathena āviṣṭaḥ” (possessed by Cupid); āviṣṭa = क्त (from ā-viś)

• saṃjātaḥ: arose/became
• saṃjātaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु) → saṃjāta (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त (past participle) used predicatively with implied ‘asmi’; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• munīśvara: O lord of sages
• munīśvara: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: “munīnām īśvaraḥ” (lord of sages)

Speaker

An unnamed narrator addressing a sage (munīśvara) within the Tīrthamāhātmya narrative

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: munīśvara (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Viśālākṣī is described with poetic bodily markers (radiance, triple curves, well-formed ankles, slender waist); the narrator’s face shows sudden agitation—Kāma’s arrow striking amid the calm of the hermitage.

Characters & Entities

• Manmatha
• Munīśvara
• Viśālākṣī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even in sacred settings, desire can arise; dharma requires vigilance and self-mastery.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse remains within the Himalayan hermitage context; the tīrtha is implicit through the ascetic environment.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse narrates an inner disturbance (kāma) that will shape subsequent actions.