Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 62

Devanagari script

तत्राऽहं कौतुकाविष्ट इतश्चेतश्च वीक्षयन् । सर्वाश्चर्यमयीं नारीमपश्यं लोकसुंदरीम्

Transliteration

tatrā'haṃ kautukāviṣṭa itaścetaśca vīkṣayan | sarvāścaryamayīṃ nārīmapaśyaṃ lokasuṃdarīm

Translation

وہاں میں تجسّس سے بھر کر اِدھر اُدھر نگاہ دوڑاتا رہا، اور میں نے ایک عجائب حسن والی عورت کو دیکھا—گویا سچ مچ عالم کو مسحور کرنے والی۔

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (adverb of place)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुषवाचक सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• kautuka-āviṣṭaḥ: seized by curiosity
• kautuka-āviṣṭaḥ: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kautuka (प्रातिपदिक) + āviṣṭa (कृदन्त; √viś (धातु) + क्त, ā-उपसर्ग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; 'कौतुकम् आविष्टः' = seized by curiosity

• itaḥ: from here/this way
• itaḥ: Sambandha (Directional)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: itaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: दिशावाचक अव्यय (adverb: from here/this side)

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

• cetaḥ: to the other side/that way
• cetaḥ: Sambandha (Directional)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cetas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; अव्ययीभावार्थे 'इतः-चेतः' = 'this way and that way' (idiomatic)

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

• vīkṣayan: looking around
• vīkṣayan: Kriya (Concurrent action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √īkṣ (धातु) with vi- (उपसर्ग); वर्तमानकाले शतृ (present active participle)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present participle), परस्मैपदी; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• sarva-āścarya-mayīm: wholly wondrous
• sarva-āścarya-mayīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + āścarya (प्रातिपदिक) + maya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; 'सर्वम् आश्चर्यम् यस्याः/यत्र' इत्यर्थे

• nārīm: a woman
• nārīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• apaśyam: I saw
• apaśyam: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु) with apa- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन

• loka-sundarīm: the beauty of the world
• loka-sundarīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + sundarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; 'लोकस्य सुन्दरी'

Speaker

First-person narrator (the ‘I’ describing a vision/encounter on Arbuda)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A Dānava addressed as ‘dānavśārdūla’ in the surrounding passage context

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A traveler, eyes darting in curiosity, beholds an impossibly radiant woman appearing within a sacred mountain landscape; the surroundings feel charged, otherworldly, and still.

Characters & Entities

• Arbuda-parvata
• Lokasundarī (epithet)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In tīrtha narratives, wonder and unexpected encounters signal the living presence of the sacred and the unfolding of hidden dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mount Arbuda, where the narrator experiences a remarkable vision.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.