Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

तत्र तीर्थे तु यो राजन्भक्त्या स्नात्वार्चयेच्छिवम् । गन्धमाल्याभिषेकैश्च याज्ञिकं स लभेत्फलम्

Transliteration

tatra tīrthe tu yo rājanbhaktyā snātvārcayecchivam | gandhamālyābhiṣekaiśca yājñikaṃ sa labhetphalam

Translation

O König, wer an jener Tīrtha-Stätte in Hingabe badet und Śiva verehrt — mit Düften, Blumengirlanden und rituellen Abwaschungen — erlangt eine Frucht, die der eines Opfers (Yajña) gleichkommt.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: there)

• तीर्थे: at the tīrtha
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (loc sg)

• तु: indeed; but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; emphasis/contrast)

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (rel. pronoun nom sg)

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन (voc sg)

• भक्त्या: with devotion
• भक्त्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (instr sg)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय-कृदन्त (gerund/absolutive): having bathed

• अर्चयेत्: should worship
• अर्चयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (3rd sg): should worship

• शिवम्: Śiva
• शिवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (acc sg)

• गन्धमाल्याभिषेकैः: with perfumes, garlands, and ritual bathing (of the deity)
• गन्धमाल्याभिषेकैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + माल्य (प्रातिपदिक) + अभिषेक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (gandha-mālya-abhiṣekaiḥ = with perfumes, garlands, and ablutions); पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन (instr pl)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात (conjunction)

• याज्ञिकम्: ritual; sacrificial
• याज्ञिकम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: याज्ञिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (acc sg)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (nom sg)

• लभेत्: would obtain
• लभेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (3rd sg): would obtain

• फलम्: fruit; result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (acc sg)

Speaker

Narrator addressing a King (listener not named in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Skanda-tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (rājan)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee-king at the riverbank completes snāna and then worships a Śiva-liṅga with sandal paste, garlands, and a flowing abhiṣeka stream.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Skanda-tīrtha (implied by context)
• King (rājan)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional worship at a sanctified place can grant merits comparable to elaborate Vedic sacrifices.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Skanda-tīrtha in the Revā Khaṇḍa (within the Āvantya Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bathe (snāna) at the tīrtha and worship Śiva with offerings of fragrance (gandha), garlands (mālya), and abhiṣeka (ritual libation/bathing).