Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

पञ्चयज्ञविधानानि कारयेद्वै यथाविधि । वनं गच्छेत्ततः पश्चाद्द्वितीयाश्रमसेवनात्

Transliteration

pañcayajñavidhānāni kārayedvai yathāvidhi | vanaṃ gacchettataḥ paścāddvitīyāśramasevanāt

Translation

Er soll die Vorschriften der fünf großen Yajñas ordnungsgemäß vollziehen; danach, nachdem er den zweiten Āśrama erfüllt hat, soll er in den Wald gehen.

Word by Word

• पञ्च-यज्ञ-विधानानि: the ordinances of the five sacrifices
• पञ्च-यज्ञ-विधानानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक) + विधान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/कर्म), बहुवचन (Plural)

• कारयेत्: should cause to be done / should perform
• कारयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु) causative/णिजन्त: कारय (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis/निपातार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (emphatic particle)

• यथा-विधि: according to rule
• यथा-विधि: Kriya-visheshana (Manner/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय) + विधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; क्रियाविशेषण (according to rule)

• वनम्: to the forest
• वनम्: Karma (Goal/कर्म-गति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/कर्म), एकवचन (Singular)

• गच्छेत्: should go
• गच्छेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, कालवाचक (thereafter)

• पश्चात्: afterwards
• पश्चात्: Kriya-visheshana (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पश्चात् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, कालवाचक (afterwards)

• द्वितीय-आश्रम-सेवनात्: from (i.e., after) the practice of the second āśrama
• द्वितीय-आश्रम-सेवनात्: Apadana (Source/Reason/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वितीय (प्रातिपदिक) + आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक) + सेवन (सेव् धातोः ल्युट्-प्रत्ययान्त भाववाचक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/अपादान), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā context (general)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A split-scene: first, a householder performs offerings and hospitality (pañca-yajña); second, the same figure departs toward a forest hermitage with staff and waterpot, signifying vānaprastha.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Pañca-yajña
• Āśrama
• Vānaprastha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Life is envisioned as a disciplined progression: fulfill household obligations and then renounce gradually toward higher realization.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the instruction is about āśrama progression within the Revā Khaṇḍa setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performance of the pañca-yajñas according to proper procedure (yathāvidhi).