Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

प्रदहन्वै नरश्रेष्ठ बभ्रमुश्च इतस्ततः । यथैव ते महाराज दहन्ति सकलं जगत्

Transliteration

pradahanvai naraśreṣṭha babhramuśca itastataḥ | yathaiva te mahārāja dahanti sakalaṃ jagat

Translation

يا خيرَ الرجال، إنهم يتّقدون ويجولون هنا وهناك؛ وهكذا حقًّا، أيها الملك العظيم، يُحرقون العالم كلَّه.

Word by Word

• pradahan: burning
• pradahan: Karta (Agent participle/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-dah (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त — शतृ-प्रत्यय (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (contextual); “burning”

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — निपात (emphatic particle) “indeed”

• naraśreṣṭha: O best of men
• naraśreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन — vocative singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (नराणां श्रेष्ठः)

• babhramuḥ: they wandered
• babhramuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhram (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परिपूर्णभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

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

• itaḥ: from here
• itaḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Directional/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) — “from here/this side”

• tataḥ: from there
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Directional/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) — “from there/that side”

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — उपमान/प्रकारवाचक adverb “as/just as”

• eva: indeed, exactly
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — अवधारण particle “indeed/just”

• te: you (plural)
• te: Karta (Implied subject of दहन्ति/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग (addressed), सम्बोधनार्थे/प्रथमा-बहुवचनरूपम्; here used as 2nd person plural pronoun “you (pl.)”

• mahārāja: O great king
• mahārāja: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + rāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन — vocative singular; कर्मधारय (महान् राजा)

• dahanti: they burn
• dahanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• sakalam: entire, whole
• sakalam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sakala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — accusative singular; विशेषण

• jagat: the world
• jagat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — accusative singular

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic speaker, contextually within Revā Khaṇḍa discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvādaśāditya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja / Bhārata (kingly interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The twelve solar powers as moving flames traversing the sky, their heat visibly scorching the worlds—an image of roaming, consuming radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Dvādaśāditya
• Pralaya
• King (listener)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Impermanence is certain; devotion should be anchored in the divine rather than in transient worldly forms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is cosmological; within Revā Khaṇḍa it supports the sanctity of places where such divine powers are worshipped and beheld.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it prepares the listener for the ensuing praise of darśana and circumambulation.