Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

विवस्त्रां तां समालोक्य सोऽपि यौवनशालिनीम् । याम्यानिलेन च स्पृष्टः कामस्य वशगो ऽभवत्

Transliteration

vivastrāṃ tāṃ samālokya so'pi yauvanaśālinīm | yāmyānilena ca spṛṣṭaḥ kāmasya vaśago 'bhavat

Translation

Thấy nàng trần thân, tuổi xuân rực rỡ, chàng cũng vậy—bị làn gió phương Nam chạm đến—liền rơi vào quyền lực của dục ái.

Word by Word

• vivastrām: unclothed
• vivastrām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-vastra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative singular; विशेषण

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

• samālokya: having seen
• samālokya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √lok + sam-ā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/ल्यप्), अव्ययभाव — ‘having looked at’

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular (he)

• api: also
• api: Sambandha/Particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कारक अव्यय (particle: also/even)

• yauvana-śālinīm: possessing youthful beauty
• yauvana-śālinīm: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yauvana + śālinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative singular; समासः (तत्पुरुष) ‘यौवनं शीलं/सम्पद् यस्याः’ = possessing youth

• yāmya-anilena: by the southern wind
• yāmya-anilena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yāmya + anila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन — Instrumental singular; समासः (कर्मधारय) ‘याम्यः अनिलः’ (southern wind)

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

• spṛṣṭaḥ: touched, affected
• spṛṣṭaḥ: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √spṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘touched/affected’

• kāmasya: of desire (Cupid/lust)
• kāmasya: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन — Genitive singular

• vaśagaḥ: subjugated, under the sway
• vaśagaḥ: Predicative complement (विशेष्य-विशेषणभाव)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaśa-ga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; समासः (तत्पुरुष) ‘वशं गतः’ (gone under control)

• abhavat: became
• abhavat: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — 3rd person singular; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Narrator (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Jābāli glimpses the unclothed apsarā in the water; the southern breeze swirls; his composed posture subtly breaks—eyes drawn, breath quickened—signaling the moment desire takes hold.

Characters & Entities

• Jābāli (implied 'he')
• Rambhā
• Yāmya anila (southern wind)
• Kāma (desire)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

External purity and sacred location are not enough; mastery over the senses is essential, especially when beauty and circumstance provoke desire.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The incident occurs at the waterside tīrtha where Jābāli performs rites; the verse does not name the location explicitly.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new prescription; it narrates the arising of kāma (desire) as a disturbance to ascetic practice.