Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

धर्म्यमायुष्यमतुलं दुःखदुःस्वप्ननाशनम् । पठतां शृण्वतां चापि सर्वकामार्थसिद्धिदम्

Transliteration

dharmyamāyuṣyamatulaṃ duḥkhaduḥsvapnanāśanam | paṭhatāṃ śṛṇvatāṃ cāpi sarvakāmārthasiddhidam

Translation

هو دَرْميٌّ، مُطيلٌ للعمر، لا نظير له؛ يبدّد الحزن والأحلامَ السيئة. ولمن يقرؤه ولمن يسمعه أيضًا يمنح تحقيقَ جميع المقاصد المرغوبة.

Word by Word

• धर्म्यम्: righteous
• धर्म्यम्: Karta (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• आयुष्यम्: life-promoting
• आयुष्यम्: Karta (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आयुष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• अतुलम्: incomparable
• अतुलम्: Karta (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अतुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• दुःखदुःस्वप्ननाशनम्: destroyer of sorrow and bad dreams
• दुःखदुःस्वप्ननाशनम्: Karta (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक) + दुःस्वप्न (प्रातिपदिक) + नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समाहार-द्वन्द्व (दुःखं च दुःस्वप्नं च, तयोः नाशनम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• पठताम्: of those who recite/read
• पठताम्: Sambandha (genitive of beneficiaries)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पठ् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्यय (present active participle) ‘पठत्’; षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; ‘of those who read’

• शृण्वताम्: of those who hear
• शृण्वताम्: Sambandha (genitive of beneficiaries)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्यय (present active participle) ‘शृण्वत्’; षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; ‘of those who listen’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अवधारणार्थक-निपात (also/even)

• सर्वकामार्थसिद्धिदम्: granting fulfillment of all desires and aims
• सर्वकामार्थसिद्धिदम्: Karta (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + काम (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + सिद्धि (प्रातिपदिक) + द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (सर्वे कामार्थाः, तेषां सिद्धिं ददाति); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

Speaker

Sūta (deduced from continued phalaśruti in Revā-khaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-carita (textual tīrtha)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A household or āśrama evening recitation: readers and listeners seated around a lamp; outside, a calm night sky; above, a fading dark cloud symbolizing sorrow and bad dreams being dispelled.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Listening to and reciting sacred narrative is presented as a practical dharmic discipline that purifies the mind and aligns life with auspicious outcomes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā/Narmadā region is being upheld through its Māhātmya text, rather than a single named tīrtha in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The implied practice is pāṭha (recitation/reading) and śravaṇa (hearing) of the Purāṇa.