Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

तपसैव हि ते प्राप्यस्तस्मात्तच्चर सुव्रते । तपस्त्वं हि महच्चोग्रं सर्ववाञ्छितदायकम्

Transliteration

tapasaiva hi te prāpyastasmāttaccara suvrate | tapastvaṃ hi mahaccograṃ sarvavāñchitadāyakam

Translation

„Darum ist er allein durch Askese zu erlangen; übe sie, o Frau von edlen Gelübden. Askese—groß und streng—gewährt wahrlich alles Ersehnte.“

Word by Word

• तपसा: by austerity
• तपसा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• एव: only/indeed
• एव: Qualifier (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (emphatic/only)

• हि: indeed/for
• हि: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात, हेत्वर्थे/निश्चयार्थे

• ते: for you/to you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, मध्यमपुरुष-प्रयोग; चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन

• प्राप्यः: to be attained/attainable
• प्राप्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु) → प्राप्य (कृदन्त)
• Form: भाव्य/कर्तव्य अर्थे (यत्/ण्यत्-प्रत्ययसम्भव), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• तस्मात्: therefore/from that
• तस्मात्: Apadana/Hetu (Source/Cause/अपादान-हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक; पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; कारण/हेतु-निर्देशे

• तत्: that (austerity/that means)
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• चर: practice/perform
• चर: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• सुव्रते: O woman of good vows
• सुव्रते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुव्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (सम्बोधन-प्रयोग), सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, मध्यमपुरुष; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• हि: indeed
• हि: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात, निश्चयार्थे

• महत्: great
• महत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• च: and
• च: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय

• उग्रं: fierce/arduous
• उग्रं: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• सर्ववाञ्छितदायकम्: granting all desired (boons)
• सर्ववाञ्छितदायकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व + वाञ्छित + दायक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सर्वेषां वाञ्छितानां दायकम्)

Speaker

Satī (as quoted within Mārkaṇḍeya’s narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) region (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A ‘suvratā’ (lady of noble vows) addressed directly

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A forceful exhortation to a noble-vowed woman: the teacher points toward a hermitage discipline—fire-altar, water-pot, kusa grass—emphasizing that only tapas yields the sought attainment.

Characters & Entities

• Satī
• Tapas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Focused austerity, upheld with steadfast vows, is praised as a powerful purifier and an efficacious means to attain one’s spiritual goal.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific sacred geography is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The practice of tapas (intense austerity) is explicitly prescribed as the chosen sādhana.