Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

पत्नीसंयोजनं चान्यद्दैवकर्म ततः परम् । मानुष्यं पितृकर्म स्याद्दशमाष्टासु शोभने

Transliteration

patnīsaṃyojanaṃ cānyaddaivakarma tataḥ param | mānuṣyaṃ pitṛkarma syāddaśamāṣṭāsu śobhane

Translation

واتحاد الرجل بزوجته، أي الزواج، هو سَمْسكارا (saṃskāra) أخرى؛ وبعد ذلك تأتي الطقوس الإلهية. ثم تتبعها الطقوس البشرية وطقوس الأسلاف؛ وهكذا، في العدّ المبارك، تُحصى ضمن العشرة والثمانية.

Word by Word

• patnīsaṃyojanam: the joining with a wife (marriage rite)
• patnīsaṃyojanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: patnī (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃyojana (प्रातिपदिक; √yuj)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘पत्नी-सम्बन्धि संयोजनम्’ (marriage/union with wife)

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

• anyat: another
• anyat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण

• daivakarma: the divine rite
• daivakarma: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daiva (प्रातिपदिक) + karma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘दैवम् कर्म’ (divine rite)

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अपादान/क्रमवाचक (thereafter/from that)

• param: next / subsequent
• param: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (following/next)

• mānuṣyam: human
• mānuṣyam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mānuṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (human)

• pitṛkarma: the rite for the ancestors (pitṛkarman)
• pitṛkarma: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + karma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘पितॄणां कर्म’ (ancestral rite)

• syāt: should be
• syāt: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• daśamāḥ: tenth (set)
• daśamāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण (tenth ones)

• aṣṭāsu: in/among the eight
• aṣṭāsu: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (अष्टा-शब्दः), सप्तमी (7), बहुवचन; संख्या-शब्द

• śobhane: in the auspicious (context)
• śobhane: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śobhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; विशेषण (auspicious/beautiful)

Speaker

Unspecified (Revā Khaṇḍa narrator speaking in a didactic tone)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vivāha saṃskāra leading into ongoing yajña duties: bride and groom circumambulating fire, elders blessing; in the background symbolic panels of deva worship, feeding guests, and offering to ancestors.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Devas (gods)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Householder life is sanctified through ordered rites—marriage, worship of the gods, service to humans, and offerings to ancestors—forming a complete dharmic life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate frame is the Revā Khaṇḍa (Narmadā/Revā sacred region), though this verse itself is primarily a dharma-ritual enumeration rather than a site-panegyric.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It references patnī-saṃyojana (marriage) and distinguishes daiva-karmas (deva rites), mānuṣya-karmas (hospitality/social rites), and pitṛ-karmas (ancestral śrāddha duties).