Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

सखे समुद्रयानेन गच्छावोत्तरणैः शुभैः । भाण्डं बहु समादाय मदीये द्रव्यसाधने

Transliteration

sakhe samudrayānena gacchāvottaraṇaiḥ śubhaiḥ | bhāṇḍaṃ bahu samādāya madīye dravyasādhane

Translation

«يا صديقي، لنسافر في البحر إلى مرافئ ومعابر مباركة. نحمل بضائع كثيرة، ونطلب الثروة برأسمالي.»

Word by Word

• सखे: O friend
• सखे: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सखि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• समुद्रयानेन: by sea-voyage, by ship-travel
• समुद्रयानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: समुद्र + यान (प्रातिपदिक; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण

• गच्छाव: let us two go
• गच्छाव: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष (1st), द्विवचन; ‘आव’ (let us two go)

• उत्तरणैः: with means of crossing, with landings/passages
• उत्तरणैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; साधन/उपायार्थे

• शुभैः: auspicious, good
• शुभैः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; उत्तरणैः विशेषयति

• भाण्डम्: goods, merchandise
• भाण्डम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• बहु: much, plenty
• बहु: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; भाण्डम् विशेषयति

• समादाय: having taken, having gathered
• समादाय: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम्-आ-दा (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त अव्यय (absolutive), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• मदीये: in my
• मदीये: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मदीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; द्रव्यसाधने विशेषयति

• द्रव्यसाधने: in the means of wealth-making, in business capital/arrangement
• द्रव्यसाधने: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रव्य + साधन (प्रातिपदिक; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण

Speaker

Narrator (quoting the merchant’s proposal within the itihāsa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) frame (implicit)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Naimiṣāraṇya sages (frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On a shoreline with a moored ship: one merchant gestures toward the sea route and distant ports; bales, amphora-like containers, ropes, and sailors preparing.

Characters & Entities

• Samudrayāna (sea voyage)
• Bhāṇḍa (merchandise)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic stories often begin with ordinary pursuits like trade, later revealing how dharma and sacred contact transform human destiny.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader narrative is anchored in Bhārabhūti Tīrtha (Revā Khaṇḍa), though this verse describes the worldly prelude.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; it describes a planned commercial journey.