Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

ततः कतिपयाहस्य मयोढा सा सुविस्मिता । सखीजनसमायुक्ता फलार्थं निर्गता वने

Transliteration

tataḥ katipayāhasya mayoḍhā sā suvismitā | sakhījanasamāyuktā phalārthaṃ nirgatā vane

Translation

پھر چند دن میرے ساتھ بیاہ کر رہنے کے بعد وہ—ابھی تک حیرت میں ڈوبی ہوئی—سہیلیوں کے ساتھ پھل چننے کے لیے جنگل کو نکلی۔

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्ध/अनन्तरार्थे (indeclinable adverb: 'thereupon/then')

• कतिपयाहस्य: of a few days
• कतिपयाहस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कतिपय (प्रातिपदिक) + अहस्/अहन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (अहस्); षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (of a few days)

• मयोढा: the newly-married woman/bride
• मयोढा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मयोढा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Apposition to subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• सुविस्मिता: greatly astonished
• सुविस्मिता: Visheshana (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + विस्मित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √स्मि/विस्मि)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त/कृदन्त-विशेषण (past participial adjective: 'very astonished')

• सखीजनसमायुक्ता: accompanied by her female friends
• सखीजनसमायुक्ता: Visheshana (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सखी (प्रातिपदिक) + जन (प्रातिपदिक) + समा-युक्त (कृदन्त; √युज्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (सखीजनैः समायुक्ता = accompanied by female friends); कृदन्त-विशेषण

• फलार्थम्: for (gathering) fruits
• फलार्थम्: Prayojana (Purpose)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (for the sake of fruits)

• निर्गता: went out
• निर्गता: Kriya (Predicate action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: निर् (उपसर्ग) + √गम् (धातु) → गत (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) used predicatively (having gone out/went out)

• वने: in the forest
• वने: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

Speaker

First-person narrator within the episode (continuing the account)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Addressed as “sūtaja” (son of a charioteer/sūta), indicating a sūta-listener frame typical of Purāṇic narration

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A newly married woman, still in a mood of wonder, walks with her sakhīs into a fruit-laden forest; creepers hang, light filters through leaves; baskets for fruits; a calm before impending tragedy.

Characters & Entities

• Mṛgāvatī
• Sakhīs (companions)
• Forest (vana)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma sanctifies ordinary duties—household life and simple sustenance proceed within a sacred moral order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha-māhātmya frame remains in effect; this verse narrates events in the forest near the hermitage without naming the site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes customary activity (collecting fruits) rather than a formal rite.