Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

सर्गश्च प्रतिसर्गश्च वंशो मन्वन्तराणि च । वंशानुचरितं चैव पुराणं पञ्चलक्षणम्

Transliteration

sargaśca pratisargaśca vaṃśo manvantarāṇi ca | vaṃśānucaritaṃ caiva purāṇaṃ pañcalakṣaṇam

Translation

Schöpfung und Wiederschöpfung, Geschlechterfolgen, die Zeitalter der Manus und die Chroniken der Linien von Königen und ṛṣis—diese fünf Kennzeichen bestimmen, was Purāṇa genannt wird.

Word by Word

• सर्गः: creation
• सर्गः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन (nominative singular)

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

• प्रतिसर्गः: secondary creation
• प्रतिसर्गः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prati + sarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष ("re-creation/secondary creation")

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

• वंशः: lineage
• वंशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaṃśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन

• मन्वन्तराणि: Manu-periods
• मन्वन्तराणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manu + antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति; बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ("periods of Manus")

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

• वंशानुचरितम्: accounts of dynasties
• वंशानुचरितम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaṃśa + anucarita (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ("accounts of the dynasties"; anucarita = "followed narrative")

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

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक निपात (particle of emphasis: "indeed/just")

• पुराणम्: a Purāṇa
• पुराणम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन

• पञ्चलक्षणम्: five-charactered
• पञ्चलक्षणम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañca + lakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; द्विगु-समास ("having five characteristics")

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ṛṣisattama

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: the teacher enumerates five ‘marks’ on fingers or with a stylus on a palm-leaf; behind him, symbolic vignettes of creation, dissolution, Manus, and royal lineages appear like a narrative frieze.

Characters & Entities

• Manu
• Manvantara
• Purāṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇa preserves dharma through cosmic origins and sacred history—linking creation, time-cycles, and righteous lineages.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; this is a formal definition of Purāṇa used as a gateway to later tīrtha-māhātmya narratives.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; the verse defines the canonical features of Purāṇic composition.