Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

दुःखेन महताविष्टः संतप्तः सन्ततिं विना । स्नानहोमरतो नित्यं द्वादशाब्दानि भारत

Transliteration

duḥkhena mahatāviṣṭaḥ saṃtaptaḥ santatiṃ vinā | snānahomarato nityaṃ dvādaśābdāni bhārata

Translation

Von großem Kummer überwältigt und vom Schmerz über fehlende Nachkommenschaft gleichsam versengt, war er stets dem rituellen Bad und den Feueropfern ergeben — standhaft — zwölf Jahre lang, o Bhārata.

Word by Word

• दुःखेन: with sorrow
• दुःखेन: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• महतā: great
• महतā: Karaṇa-viśeṣaṇa (Instrument qualifier/करणविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (दुःखेन)

• आविष्टः: overcome, possessed
• आविष्टः: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-viś (धातु) → āviṣṭa (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• संतप्तः: afflicted, tormented
• संतप्तः: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃ-tap (धातु) → saṃtapta (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• सन्ततिम्: offspring, progeny
• सन्ततिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: santati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• विना: without
• विना: Nivṛtti/Apādāna-sadṛśa (Without/absence relation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपपद/पूर्वसर्गसदृश): 'without' अर्थे; द्वितीयान्त-सम्बन्ध

• स्नानहोमरतः: devoted to bathing and fire-offerings
• स्नानहोमरतः: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक) + homa (प्रातिपदिक) + rata (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास (स्नानं च होमः च) + तत्पुरुष (तयोः रतः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal adverbial/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb): 'always' अर्थे

• द्वादशाब्दानि: twelve years
• द्वादशाब्दानि: Kāla-parimāṇa (Duration/कालपरिमाण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvādaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + abda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास: द्वादश + अब्द; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन (कालपरिमाण)

• भारत: O Bhārata
• भारत: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhārata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Āvantya Khaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhārata (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At dawn on a river ghat, the king performs ritual bathing, then tends a sacred fire with offerings; seasons pass—visualized by changing skies and foliage—yet his practice remains unwavering for twelve years.

Characters & Entities

• Bhārata

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Persistent dharmic effort—regular snāna and homa performed with endurance—purifies suffering and becomes a worthy basis for divine grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage sits in the Revā Khaṇḍa, oriented to the sanctity of the Revā (Narmadā) region, though this verse itself emphasizes vow-based practice rather than naming a single tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Daily snāna (sacred bathing) and homa (fire-offering) maintained continuously for twelve years.