Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

मार्कण्डेय उवाच । स्वपुत्रिकामभिगन्तुमिच्छन्पूर्वं पितामहः । शप्तस्तु देवदेवेन कोपाविष्टेन सत्तम

Transliteration

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca | svaputrikāmabhigantumicchanpūrvaṃ pitāmahaḥ | śaptastu devadevena kopāviṣṭena sattama

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya sprach: Einst, als Pitāmaha (Brahmā) begehrte, sich seiner eigenen Tochter zu nahen, belegte ihn der Gott der Götter, vom Zorn ergriffen, mit einem Fluch, o Bester der Menschen.

Word by Word

• mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Mārkaṇḍeya
• mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārkaṇḍeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• sva-putrikām: his own daughter
• sva-putrikām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + putrikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (स्वस्य पुत्रिका), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• abhigantum: to approach
• abhigantum: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi-gam (धातु) → abhigantum (तुमुन्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त: तुमुनन्त (infinitive)

• icchan: wishing
• icchan: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: iṣ (धातु) → icchant (शतृ-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले, पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; agrees with pitāmahaḥ

• pūrvam: formerly, earlier
• pūrvam: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण)

• pitāmahaḥ: the Grandfather (Brahmā)
• pitāmahaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• śaptaḥ: cursed
• śaptaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śap (धातु) → śapta (क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि, पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; predicate of pitāmahaḥ

• tu: indeed, but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/अवधारण-विरोधार्थ)

• devadevena: by the god of gods
• devadevena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (देवानां देवेन), पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• kopāviṣṭena: possessed by anger
• kopāviṣṭena: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kopa (प्रातिपदिक) + āviṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक/क्त)
• Form: समास: तृतीया-तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारय (कोपेन आविष्टः), पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; agrees with devadevena

• sattama: O best of the good
• sattama: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक) + tama (तमप् प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; superlative address

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (implied future expiation locus)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya narrates: Brahmā, stirred by desire, moves toward his daughter; Śiva (devadeva) appears wrathful, poised to pronounce a curse; cosmic court atmosphere.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Pitāmaha (Brahmā)
• Devadeva (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the highest beings are accountable to dharma; wrongdoing draws divine correction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The context is the Revā (Narmadā) region in the Revā Khaṇḍa, leading into the praise of a specific tīrtha associated with Pitāmaha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it introduces the narrative background (the curse) that frames the tīrtha’s later greatness.