Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

पत्नीसंयोजनं चान्यद्दैवकर्म ततः परम् । मानुष्यं पितृकर्म स्याद्दशमाष्टासु शोभने

Transliteration

patnīsaṃyojanaṃ cānyaddaivakarma tataḥ param | mānuṣyaṃ pitṛkarma syāddaśamāṣṭāsu śobhane

Translation

Die Vereinigung mit der Gattin, das heißt die Ehe, ist ein weiterer Saṃskāra; danach kommen die göttlichen Riten. Dann folgen die menschlichen Riten und die Ahnenriten; so werden sie in der glückverheißenden Zählung zu den Zehn und den Acht gerechnet.

Word by Word

• patnīsaṃyojanam: the joining with a wife (marriage rite)
• patnīsaṃyojanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: patnī (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃyojana (प्रातिपदिक; √yuj)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘पत्नी-सम्बन्धि संयोजनम्’ (marriage/union with wife)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• anyat: another
• anyat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण

• daivakarma: the divine rite
• daivakarma: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daiva (प्रातिपदिक) + karma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘दैवम् कर्म’ (divine rite)

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अपादान/क्रमवाचक (thereafter/from that)

• param: next / subsequent
• param: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (following/next)

• mānuṣyam: human
• mānuṣyam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mānuṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; विशेषण (human)

• pitṛkarma: the rite for the ancestors (pitṛkarman)
• pitṛkarma: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + karma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘पितॄणां कर्म’ (ancestral rite)

• syāt: should be
• syāt: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• daśamāḥ: tenth (set)
• daśamāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण (tenth ones)

• aṣṭāsu: in/among the eight
• aṣṭāsu: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (अष्टा-शब्दः), सप्तमी (7), बहुवचन; संख्या-शब्द

• śobhane: in the auspicious (context)
• śobhane: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śobhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; विशेषण (auspicious/beautiful)

Speaker

Unspecified (Revā Khaṇḍa narrator speaking in a didactic tone)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vivāha saṃskāra leading into ongoing yajña duties: bride and groom circumambulating fire, elders blessing; in the background symbolic panels of deva worship, feeding guests, and offering to ancestors.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Devas (gods)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Householder life is sanctified through ordered rites—marriage, worship of the gods, service to humans, and offerings to ancestors—forming a complete dharmic life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate frame is the Revā Khaṇḍa (Narmadā/Revā sacred region), though this verse itself is primarily a dharma-ritual enumeration rather than a site-panegyric.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It references patnī-saṃyojana (marriage) and distinguishes daiva-karmas (deva rites), mānuṣya-karmas (hospitality/social rites), and pitṛ-karmas (ancestral śrāddha duties).