Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 85

Devanagari script

प्रविश्याग्नौ मृतानां च यत्फलं समुदाहृतम् । तच्छृणुष्व नृपश्रेष्ठ प्रोच्यमानमशेषतः

Transliteration

praviśyāgnau mṛtānāṃ ca yatphalaṃ samudāhṛtam | tacchṛṇuṣva nṛpaśreṣṭha procyamānamaśeṣataḥ

Translation

হে নৃপশ্ৰেষ্ঠ, অগ্নিত প্ৰৱেশ কৰি যিসকলে মৃত্যু বরণ কৰে, সিহঁতৰ বাবে ঘোষিত ফল সম্পূৰ্ণকৈ শুনা; এতিয়া সেয়া একো নাছাড়ি বৰ্ণনা কৰা হ’ব।

Word by Word

• प्रविश्य: having entered
• प्रविश्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-विश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (क्त्वान्त) — gerund ‘having entered’

• अग्नौ: into/in the fire
• अग्नौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — masculine locative singular

• मृतानाम्: of the dead
• मृतानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत (प्रातिपदिक; √मृ धातोः क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन — masculine genitive plural; ‘of the dead’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय) — conjunction ‘and’

• यत्: which/that
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — neuter nominative/accusative singular (relative pronoun)

• फलम्: fruit/result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — neuter nominative/accusative singular

• समुदाहृतम्: has been proclaimed
• समुदाहृतम्: Kriya (Predicative verbal/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + उद् + आ + √हृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (भूतकर्मणि), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — past passive participle ‘has been declared’

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — neuter accusative singular

• शृणुष्व: listen
• शृणुष्व: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (आज्ञार्थ), आत्मनेपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन — imperative, 2nd singular ‘listen!’

• नृपश्रेष्ठ: O best of kings
• नृपश्रेष्ठ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन — masculine vocative singular; कर्मधारय ‘श्रेष्ठः नृपः’

• प्रोच्यमानम्: being explained
• प्रोच्यमानम्: Karma (Object apposition/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + वच् (धातु)
• Form: शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकर्मणि कृदन्त (passive present participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — ‘being spoken/being explained’

• अशेषतः: completely
• अशेषतः: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अ (नञ्) + शेष (प्रातिपदिक) + तस् (तद्धित)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — adverb ‘completely/without remainder’

Speaker

Śaṅkara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-khaṇḍa discourse context (specific tīrtha not named in this verse)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpaśreṣṭha (best of kings)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A solemn teaching scene: the narrator addresses the king, gesturing toward a sacrificial fire; the fire symbolizes the topic ‘agni-praveśa’ while the king listens intently.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkara
• Agni
• nṛpa (king)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa frames even death and its circumstances within a moral-cosmic order, where outcomes (phala) are taught as part of dharma instruction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The surrounding passage belongs to the Revā Khaṇḍa’s tīrtha-glorification; the results are being narrated in that tīrtha-mahātmya setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; it introduces a teaching on the stated results (phala) connected with a particular manner of death.