Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

केनोपायेन तत्तीर्थं तेन ज्ञातं धरातले । तदहं श्रोतुमिच्छामि परं कौतूहलं हि मे

Transliteration

kenopāyena tattīrthaṃ tena jñātaṃ dharātale | tadahaṃ śrotumicchāmi paraṃ kautūhalaṃ hi me

Translation

„Auf welche Weise wurde jenes heilige Furtheiligtum (tīrtha) auf Erden entdeckt, und durch wen? Ich wünsche es zu hören, denn mein Staunen ist überaus groß.“

Word by Word

• kena: by what?
• kena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• upāyena: by what means
• upāyena: Karaṇa (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• tat: that
• tat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• tīrtham: sacred ford/place
• tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• tena: by him/thereby
• tena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• jñātam: was known/ascertained
• jñātam: Kriyā (Result state/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jñā (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense)

• dharā-tale: on the earth’s surface
• dharā-tale: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharā (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• tat: that (matter)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तम-पुरुष सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• śrotum: to hear
• śrotum: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), श्रवणार्थे (purpose: to hear)

• icchāmi: wish/desire
• icchāmi: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: iṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तम-पुरुष (1st person), एकवचन (Singular)

• param: great, intense
• param: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (used adverbially/intensively)

• kautūhalam: curiosity
• kautūhalam: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate nominal/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kautūhala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Nipāta (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/हेतु-बोधक निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• me: my
• me: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तम-पुरुष सर्वनाम, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Yudhiṣṭhira (deduced from immediate context; the question continues into the next verse where he is explicitly named)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śuklatīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mārkaṇḍeya (immediately answers next verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yudhiṣṭhira, intent and composed, asks to hear the means by which Śuklatīrtha was known and by whom; the sage prepares to narrate.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places are not merely locations; their discovery is treated as a sacred revelation worthy of attentive listening (śravaṇa).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A particular tīrtha within the Revā Khaṇḍa (Narmadā/Revā sacred landscape) is being introduced, though not yet named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse emphasizes śravaṇa (hearing) as the gateway to understanding tīrtha-māhātmya.