Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

इति ते कथितं पार्थ प्रायश्चित्तार्थलक्षणम् । रेवायात्राविधानं च गुह्यमेतद्युधिष्ठिर

Transliteration

iti te kathitaṃ pārtha prāyaścittārthalakṣaṇam | revāyātrāvidhānaṃ ca guhyametadyudhiṣṭhira

Translation

هكذا، يا بارثا (Pārtha)، قد بُيِّنَت لك سماتُ الكفّارة وغايتُها، وكذلك نظامُ حجّ رِيفا (Revā). وهذا تعليمٌ سرّيٌّ مقدّس، يا يودهيشثيرا (Yudhiṣṭhira).

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्तिपर्यवसानसूचक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• te: to you
• te: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी (6th/Genitive or 4th/Dative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम; अत्र प्रायः चतुर्थी (तुभ्यम्)

• kathitam: has been told
• kathitam: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kath (धातु) → kathita (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त); ‘कथितम्’ इति कर्मणि-भावे (it has been told)

• pārtha: O Pārtha
• pārtha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• prāyaścittārthalakṣaṇam: the definition/characteristic of the purpose of expiation
• prāyaścittārthalakṣaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāyaścitta (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक) + lakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (प्रायश्चित्तस्य अर्थ-लक्षणम्)

• revāyātrāvidhānam: the procedure for the Revā pilgrimage
• revāyātrāvidhānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: revā (प्रातिपदिक) + yātrā (प्रातिपदिक) + vidhāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (रेवायाः यात्रायाः विधानम्)

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

• guhyam: secret
• guhyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: guhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• yudhiṣṭhira: O Yudhiṣṭhira
• yudhiṣṭhira: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yudhiṣṭhira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (Revā Khaṇḍa narrative voice, addressing Yudhiṣṭhira)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-yātrā (Narmadā pilgrimage)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira (addressed as Pārtha/Yudhiṣṭhira)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage concludes instruction to a royal listener: palm-leaf manuscript, quiet hermitage near a river; the teaching is marked as ‘guhya’ by the intimate, restrained setting.

Characters & Entities

• Pārtha (Arjuna epithet used as address)
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Revā (Narmadā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage and expiation are sacred disciplines; when transmitted as ‘guhya’, they demand reverence and proper practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā yātrā tradition centered on the Narmadā is affirmed as a sacred, authoritative path of purification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The shloka concludes the instruction on prāyaścitta and formally indicates the ‘Revā-yātrā-vidhāna’ (rules of the pilgrimage).