Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

तावद्यावत्क्षयं सर्वे गताः काले सुसंचिताः । स्थितं समुन्नतं लिङ्गं दृष्ट्वा शोकमुपागमत्

Transliteration

tāvadyāvatkṣayaṃ sarve gatāḥ kāle susaṃcitāḥ | sthitaṃ samunnataṃ liṅgaṃ dṛṣṭvā śokamupāgamat

Translation

Mit der Zeit war alles, was sorgfältig angesammelt worden war, aufgebraucht; und als er den Liṅga noch immer aufrecht, hoch und unbewegt sah, überkam ihn Kummer.

Word by Word

• tāvat: so long/so much
• tāvat: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Correlative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, परिमाण/अवधिबोधक (correlative: so long/so much)

• yāvat: until/as long as
• yāvat: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Correlative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, यावत्-तावत् सम्बन्ध (correlative: until/as long as)

• kṣayaṃ: to destruction/end
• kṣayaṃ: Gati/Phala (गति/फल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• sarve: all
• sarve: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); विशेषणम् (qualifier)

• gatāḥ: went/reached
• gatāḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया/Predicative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nom./1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• kāle: in time / in due course
• kāle: Kālādhi karaṇa (काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• su-saṃcitāḥ: well accumulated
• su-saṃcitāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + saṃcita (प्रातिपदिक; ci from चि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nom./1st), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष/उपपद: सु (उपसर्ग/उपपद) + सञ्चित (well-collected)

• sthitaṃ: standing
• sthitaṃ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (स्था धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन

• samunnataṃ: raised high/uplifted
• samunnataṃ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam + unnata (प्रातिपदिक; nam from नम्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; उपसर्गपूर्वक विशेषण

• liṅgaṃ: the liṅga
• liṅgaṃ: Karma (कर्म/Object of dṛṣṭvā)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (दृश् धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive)

• śokam: grief
• śokam: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śoka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• upāgamat: he came to/experienced
• upāgamat: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: upa√gam (गम् धातु)
• Form: लुङ्-लकार (Aorist/Imperfective past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice, likely Sūta/Skanda-context narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The merchant stands drained and despairing; his stores/earnings depleted, while the liṅga remains upright, tall, and unmoved—an image of spiritual immutability versus worldly collapse.

Characters & Entities

• liṅga
• vaṇik (merchant)
• Parameśvara (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly accumulation is exhaustible, while the divine principle (symbolized by the liṅga) remains steadfast.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Devamārga associated with the liṅga later famed as Balākeśvara in Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it frames the narrative contrast between spent wealth and the enduring sacred emblem.