Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा पश्येद्देवीं सुभक्तितः । अष्टम्यां वा चतुर्दश्यां सर्वकालेऽथवा नृप

Transliteration

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā paśyeddevīṃ subhaktitaḥ | aṣṭamyāṃ vā caturdaśyāṃ sarvakāle'thavā nṛpa

Translation

أيها الملك، من اغتسل في ذلك التيرثا ورأى الإلهة بتعبّد صادق—في اليوم القمري الثامن أو الرابع عشر، بل في أي وقت—(نال الثمرة الممدوحة).

Word by Word

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

• tīrthe: at the sacred ford/place of pilgrimage
• tīrthe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• yaḥ: who (he)
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √snā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; पूर्वक्रिया — ‘having bathed’

• paśyet: should see
• paśyet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• devīm: the Goddess
• devīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• subhaktitaḥ: with great devotion
• subhaktitaḥ: Hetu/Prakaraṇa (Manner/Cause)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: su- (उपसर्ग) + bhakti (प्रातिपदिक) + -tas (तसिल् प्रत्यय)
• Form: तसिलन्त-अव्यय (adverbial ablatival formation): ‘from/with good devotion’

• aṣṭamyām: on the eighth lunar day
• aṣṭamyām: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; तिथिवाचक

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक निपात (disjunctive particle: ‘or’)

• caturdaśyām: on the fourteenth lunar day
• caturdaśyām: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturdaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; तिथिवाचक

• sarvakāle: at all times
• sarvakāle: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषप्रायः (सर्वः काले) = ‘at all times’

• athavā: or else
• athavā: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha + vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (alternative connector: ‘or else’)

• nṛpa: O king
• nṛpa: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Devī-tīrtha on Revā (contextual)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims bathing at a riverbank tīrtha, then approaching a Devī sanctum with lamps and garlands; a calendar-like motif shows Aṣṭamī and Caturdaśī moons.

Characters & Entities

• Devī (Siddheśvarī/Vaiṣṇavī)
• Aṣṭamī
• Caturdaśī
• Tīrtha (Revā/Narmadā context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion is primary, yet sacred time (tithi) can intensify the fruit of tīrtha-bath and Devī-darśana.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same Devī-tīrtha in Revā Khaṇḍa Adhyāya 166 (the verse does not specify the exact place-name).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bathing at the tīrtha and beholding the Devī with devotion, especially recommended on Aṣṭamī or Caturdaśī, though permissible at any time.