Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 105

Devanagari script

तावत्तिष्ठेन्नरो नारी पश्चादिदमुदीरयेत् । नमो नमस्ते ललिते तुलापुरुषसंज्ञिते

Transliteration

tāvattiṣṭhennaro nārī paścādidamudīrayet | namo namaste lalite tulāpuruṣasaṃjñite

Translation

So lange es geboten ist, soll Mann oder Frau (in der Haltung) verweilen; danach spreche man: „Ehrerbietung, Ehrerbietung dir, o Lalitā, die als Tulāpuruṣa bekannt ist.“

Word by Word

• तावत्: so long; until then
• तावत्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (काल/परिमाणवाचक अव्यय) — indeclinable adverb ‘so long/that long’

• तिष्ठेत्: should remain/stand
• तिष्ठेत्: Kriyā (Predicate action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम् (Singular), परस्मैपदम् — ‘should stand/remain’

• नरः: a man
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम् — masculine nominative singular

• नारी: a woman
• नारी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम् — feminine nominative singular

• पश्चात्: afterwards
• पश्चात्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Temporal adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पश्चात् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) — indeclinable adverb ‘afterwards’

• इदम्: this (statement)
• इदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचनम् — pronoun accusative singular

• उदीरयेत्: should recite/utter
• उदीरयेत्: Kriyā (Predicate action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-ईर् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम् — ‘should utter/recite’

• नमः: obeisance
• नमः: Sambandha/Prayojana (Salutation formula)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (नमस्कारार्थक निपात) — indeclinable ‘obeisance’

• नमः: obeisance
• नमः: Sambandha/Prayojana (Salutation formula)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (नमस्कारार्थक निपात) — repeated salutation

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive) एकवचनम् — ‘to you/your’; (in ‘नमस्ते’ idiom = dative sense)

• ललिते: O Lalitā
• ललिते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ललिता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचनम् — vocative feminine singular

• तुलापुरुषसंज्ञिते: O (you) who are called ‘Tulāpuruṣa’
• तुलापुरुषसंज्ञिते: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of संबोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तुला + पुरुष + संज्ञित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचनम्; ‘संज्ञित’ = क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle) from √ज्ञा with सम्-; समासः: (तुलापुरुष)-संज्ञित = ‘named as Tulāpuruṣa’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Āvantya Khaṇḍa, Revā Khaṇḍa instructional passage)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee (man or woman) stands or remains poised in a ritual stance near a sacred riverbank/temple precinct, hands folded, reciting repeated namaskāra to Lalitā, with a balance/scale motif hinted by ‘Tulāpuruṣa’.

Characters & Entities

• Tulāpuruṣa
• Lalitā/Śakti aspect

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual action is crowned by devotion: the rite is directed to the divine presence personified as Tulāpuruṣa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā Khaṇḍa setting connects this rite to Narmadā-region sacred practice, though no single tīrtha is named in the verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Maintain the prescribed posture/position through the weighing, then recite the Tulāpuruṣa salutation-mantra.