Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । साधु साधु महादेवि सर्वलक्षणलक्षिते । अहं तं न विजानामि क्लिश्यन्तं दानवेश्वरम्

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | sādhu sādhu mahādevi sarvalakṣaṇalakṣite | ahaṃ taṃ na vijānāmi kliśyantaṃ dānaveśvaram

Translation

ঈশ্বর বললেন— সাধু, সাধু, হে মহাদেবী! সর্বশুভ লক্ষণে লক্ষিতা! কষ্টভোগকারী সেই দানবেশ্বরকে আমি এখনও চিনি না।

Word by Word

• ईश्वरः: Īśvara
• ईश्वरः: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परोक्षभूत/परिपूर्णभूत), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद (Perfect, 3rd person, Singular)

• साधु: well done
• साधु: Nipāta (Exclamation/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: साधु (अव्यय/विशेषण-प्रयोग)
• Form: निपात/अव्यय (approbative indeclinable: 'well!')

• साधु: well done
• साधु: Nipāta (Exclamation/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: साधु (अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरुक्त-निपात (repeated approbative particle)

• महादेवि: O Mahādevī
• महादेवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा, एकवचन (Feminine, Vocative, Singular)

• सर्व-लक्षण-लक्षिते: O one marked by all auspicious signs
• सर्व-लक्षण-लक्षिते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + लक्षण (प्रातिपदिक) + लक्षित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सर्वैः लक्षणैः लक्षिता), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा, एकवचन (Feminine, Vocative, Singular)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Pronoun, Nominative, Singular)

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Singular)

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• विजानामि: I know, I recognize
• विजानामि: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), उत्तम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद (Present Indicative, 1st person, Singular)

• क्लिश्यन्तम्: suffering, being afflicted
• क्लिश्यन्तम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्लिश् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमान-कृदन्त (Present Active Participle), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Singular)

• दानव-ईश्वरम्: the lord of the demons
• दानव-ईश्वरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दानव (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (दानवानाम् ईश्वरः), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Singular)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Umā/Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva praises Mahādevī’s auspiciousness and admits he does not yet recognize the suffering dānava-lord—an intriguing pause before revelation.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara
• Mahādevī
• Dānaveśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even when power is sought by non-divine beings, the cosmic order acknowledges effort; discernment precedes divine engagement.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is directly praised in this verse; it is part of the narrative movement toward the place of tapas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a dialogue framing the next action—going to witness the tapas.