Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

देवराजस्तथा शक्रः संतप्तस्तपसा तयोः । युयोजाप्सरसस्तत्र तयोर्विघ्नचिकीर्षया

Transliteration

devarājastathā śakraḥ saṃtaptastapasā tayoḥ | yuyojāpsarasastatra tayorvighnacikīrṣayā

Translation

حينئذٍ إنّ ملكَ الآلهةِ شَكرا (إندرا)، وقد ضاق بتقشّفِ ذينك الاثنين، أرسلَ الأبساراس إلى هناك قاصدًا أن يُحدِثَ عائقًا لتوبتهما.

Word by Word

• देवराजः: king of the gods
• देवराजः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव + राज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘देवानां राजा’

• तथा: thus/also
• तथा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/समुच्चयार्थ (thus/also)

• शक्रः: Śakra (Indra)
• शक्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; देवराजस्य विशेषण/अप्पोजिशन

• संतप्तः: afflicted/tormented
• संतप्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + तप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (शक्रः)

• तपसा: by austerity
• तपसा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• तयोः: of those two
• तयोः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th), द्विवचन

• युयोज: appointed/sent/engaged
• युयोज: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: युज् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• अप्सरसः: apsarases (celestial nymphs)
• अप्सरसः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप्सरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (locative adverb)

• तयोः: of those two
• तयोः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th), द्विवचन

• विघ्नचिकीर्षया: with the intention of creating an obstacle
• विघ्नचिकीर्षया: Hetu (Cause/Purpose/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विघ्न + चिकीर्षा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; षष्ठी/कर्म-तत्पुरुषः ‘विघ्नं चिकीर्षा’ (desire to cause obstacle)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (narrative voice implied in the chapter context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (scene-setting)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra, troubled, dispatches a troupe of apsarases toward a forested mountain hermitage; the air shimmers with divine intent—beauty as a weapon against austerity.

Characters & Entities

• Indra (Śakra)
• Apsarases

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Great austerity can provoke tests and distractions; dharma requires steadiness when obstacles arise.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This segment is set in the Revā Khaṇḍa’s sacred-geography orbit; the immediate verse focuses on the Gandhamādana setting of the austerity narrative rather than a named Revā ford.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse highlights tapas (austerity) and the attempted creation of vighnas (obstacles).