Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

सिंहव्याघ्रादयः सौम्याश्चेरुः सह मृगैर्गिरौ । तयोर्गौरिव भारार्ता पृथिवी पृथिवीपते

Transliteration

siṃhavyāghrādayaḥ saumyāśceruḥ saha mṛgairgirau | tayorgauriva bhārārtā pṛthivī pṛthivīpate

Translation

Löwen, Tiger und die übrigen wurden sanft und streiften mit den Hirschen gemeinsam über den Berg. Doch die Erde, o Herr der Erde, wurde von ihrem Gewicht bedrückt, wie eine Kuh, die unter einer Last leidet.

Word by Word

• सिंहव्याघ्रादयः: lions, tigers, and others
• सिंहव्याघ्रादयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिंह + व्याघ्र + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘आदि’-समासान्त, ‘सिंह-व्याघ्र-आदयः’ = सिंहव्याघ्रादयः

• सौम्याः: gentle/peaceful
• सौम्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सौम्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (सिंहव्याघ्रादयः इत्यस्य)

• चेरुः: wandered/roamed
• चेरुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• सह: together with
• सह: Sahakari (Accompaniment/सहकारि)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सह-योगे (with)

• मृगैः: with the deer/animals
• मृगैः: Sahakari (Accompaniment/सहकारि)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन

• गिरौ: on the mountain
• गिरौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• तयोः: of those two
• तयोः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th), द्विवचन

• गौर्: a cow
• गौर्: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• इव: like
• इव: Upamana-marker (उपमा-सूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमा-सूचक (comparative particle)

• भारार्ता: distressed by burden
• भारार्ता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भार + आर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘भारेण आर्ता’ इति तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः; विशेषणम् (पृथिवी)

• पृथिवी: the earth
• पृथिवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• पृथिवीपते: O lord of the earth
• पृथिवीपते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘पृथिव्याः पतिः’

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (contextual attribution within Āvantya/Revā narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (Narmadā sacred region)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pṛthivīpati / Avanīpāla (king addressed as ‘lord of the earth’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A mountain landscape where lions and tigers walk calmly beside deer; the Earth-goddess (Pṛthivī) appears as a cow bowed under an impossible load, conveying the heaviness of accumulated tapas.

Characters & Entities

• Earth (Pṛthivī)
• Lions
• Tigers
• Deer
• Nara-Nārāyaṇa (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual power is shown to generate harmony (even among natural enemies), yet it is so intense that creation itself feels its weight.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The mountain setting (Gandhamādana in the surrounding verses) is the sanctified landscape implied here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes signs (lakṣaṇas) accompanying great tapas.