Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

धारणं प्रेरणं दुःखमिच्छाहङ्कार एव च । प्रयत्न आकृतिर्वर्णः स्वरद्वेषौ भवाभवौ

Transliteration

dhāraṇaṃ preraṇaṃ duḥkhamicchāhaṅkāra eva ca | prayatna ākṛtirvarṇaḥ svaradveṣau bhavābhavau

Translation

Er bewirkt auch Festhalten und Antreiben, Schmerz, Begehren und Ich-Gefühl; Anstrengung, Körpergestalt und Teint; eigenes Anhaften und Abneigung sowie die Zustände des Werdens und Nicht-Werdens.

Word by Word

• dhāraṇam: holding, support
• dhāraṇam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• preraṇam: impulsion, prompting
• preraṇam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: preraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• duḥkham: suffering
• duḥkham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• icchā: desire
• icchā: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: icchā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (as compound member)

• ahaṅkāraḥ: ego-sense
• ahaṅkāraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahaṅkāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• icchāhaṅkāraḥ: desire and ego
• icchāhaṅkāraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: icchā + ahaṅkāra (प्रातिपदिक-समूह)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (इच्छा च अहङ्कारः च); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (समाहार/समुच्चयार्थ)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphasis)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• prayatnaḥ: effort
• prayatnaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prayatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ākṛtiḥ: form, shape
• ākṛtiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ākṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• varṇaḥ: color/class/letter
• varṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• svara: sound, tone
• svara: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत्-पूर्वपद (as compound member)

• dveṣau: two aversions/hatreds
• dveṣau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dveṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन

• svaradveṣau: (two) aversions related to sound
• svaradveṣau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svara + dveṣa (प्रातिपदिक-समूह)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (स्वरेषु/स्वरस्य द्वेषौ—contextual); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन

• bhava: existence
• bhava: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत्-पूर्वपद (as compound member)

• abhava: non-existence
• abhava: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a- + bhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत्-पूर्वपद; नञर्थ (non-existence)

• bhavābhavau: existence and non-existence
• bhavābhavau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhava + abhava (प्रातिपदिक-समूह)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (भवः च अभवः च); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन

Speaker

Sūta (deduced for Āvantya Khaṇḍa narrative frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A human figure at a crossroads: one path labeled ‘bhava’ crowded with desire/ego figures; the other labeled ‘abhava’ serene with a shrine and flowing river; rāga and dveṣa appear as two attendants pulling the mind.

Characters & Entities

• Haṅkāra
• Rāga
• Dveṣa
• Bhava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Desire, ego, attachment, and aversion are part of embodied existence; recognizing their divine governance supports self-restraint and dharmic discipline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Revā Khaṇḍa situates teachings in the Revā/Narmadā sacred landscape, but this verse is doctrinal rather than site-specific.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated; the verse functions as a moral-psychological teaching supporting vairāgya and right conduct.