Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

वर्षासु च जलाहारा भूत्वा सा विष कन्यका । आकाशे शयनं चक्रे परित्यक्तकुटीरका

Transliteration

varṣāsu ca jalāhārā bhūtvā sā viṣa kanyakā | ākāśe śayanaṃ cakre parityaktakuṭīrakā

Translation

اور برسات کے موسم میں وہ ‘وِش کنیا’ صرف پانی پر رہی؛ کٹیا چھوڑ کر اُس نے کھلے آسمان تلے سونا اختیار کیا۔

Word by Word

• varṣāsu: in the rainy season(s)
• varṣāsu: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; कालाधिकरण

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• jalāhārā: having water as food (living on water)
• jalāhārā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक) + āhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण—‘सा/कन्यका’

• bhūtvā: having become
• bhūtvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• viṣa: poisonous / like poison
• viṣa: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र विशेषणरूपेण ‘कन्यका’ इत्यस्य (poison-like/poisonous)

• kanyakā: maiden
• kanyakā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kanyakā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तृ/विषय

• ākāśe: in the sky / open air
• ākāśe: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ākāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; देशाधिकरण

• śayanam: sleeping / lying down
• śayanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śayana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्म—‘चक्रे’

• cakre: did / performed
• cakre: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• parityaktakuṭīrakā: one who has abandoned her hut
• parityaktakuṭīrakā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pari-√tyaj (धातु) + parityakta (कृदन्त) + kuṭīraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहिसमास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण—‘सा/कन्यका’; अर्थः ‘यस्या: कुटीरकं परित्यक्तम्’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Monsoon season: the ascetic maiden lives on water alone, leaves her hut, and sleeps under the open sky; rain sheets, dark clouds, wet earth, and her unwavering posture convey hardship and resolve.

Characters & Entities

• kanyakā (maiden)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Detachment and endurance—reducing comforts and accepting exposure—are presented as supportive conditions for single-minded worship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is embedded in a tīrtha-glorification chapter, but it does not itself specify the site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Jalāhāra (water-only intake) during the monsoon and sleeping in the open, abandoning the hut.