Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

चतुर्दिनानि सा प्राज्ञैः पापस्य महतो महात् । चतुर्थं तु ततो भागं विभज्य परमेश्वरः

Transliteration

caturdināni sā prājñaiḥ pāpasya mahato mahāt | caturthaṃ tu tato bhāgaṃ vibhajya parameśvaraḥ

Translation

Vier Tage lang, so verkünden die Weisen, trägt sie jenen großen Anteil an der großen Sünde. Dann teilte der Höchste Herr es auf und wies auch den vierten Anteil zu.

Word by Word

• चतुः: four
• चतुः: Viśeṣaṇa (Numeral adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; दिनानि इति विशेषणम् (समास-विग्रहपूर्वक)

• दिनानि: days
• दिनानि: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• प्राज्ञैः: by the wise (persons)
• प्राज्ञैः: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• पापस्य: of sin
• पापस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• महतः: great
• महतः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; पापस्य इति विशेषणम्

• महत्: from the great (sin)
• महत्: Apādāna (Ablative/source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; (पाठभेदे महात्)

• चतुर्थम्: the fourth
• चतुर्थम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; भागम् इति विशेषणम्

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात

• ततः: from that/thereafter
• ततः: Apādāna (Adverbial source)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय/तद्-तसिल्)
• Form: अव्यय, अव्ययीभावार्थे (ablatival adverb)

• भागम्: portion/share
• भागम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• विभज्य: having divided
• विभज्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-भज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया, उपसर्गः वि-

• परमेश्वरः: the Supreme Lord
• परमेश्वरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: परम + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (परमः ईश्वरः)

Speaker

Narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Parameśvara is depicted as dividing a symbolic ‘share’ (bhāga) of darkness/red smoke (pāpa) into four portions, with a calendrical four-day motif (four lamps or four lotuses) indicating the time span.

Characters & Entities

• Parameśvara (Supreme Lord)
• Prājñas (the wise)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma regulates even heavy cosmic burdens through time-bound observances, turning disorder into a structured, livable moral cosmos.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None explicitly; it remains within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s dharmic-etiological narration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A four-day period is indicated in connection with the rajasvalā state, framed as a time-bound bearing of a share of doṣa.