Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

कोऽपरः सागराद्देवात्स्वर्गद्वारविपाटन । तत्र सागरपर्यन्तं महातीर्थमनुत्तमम्

Transliteration

ko'paraḥ sāgarāddevātsvargadvāravipāṭana | tatra sāgaraparyantaṃ mahātīrthamanuttamam

Translation

Wer wäre denn eine andere Gottheit wie der Ozean, der das Tor zum Himmel aufstößt? Dort liegt die unvergleichliche große Tīrtha, die sich bis an die Grenze des Meeres erstreckt.

Word by Word

• kaḥ: who
• kaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• aparaḥ: other
• aparaḥ: Karta (Predicate/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: apara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; used predicatively ‘other’

• sāgarāt: than/from the ocean
• sāgarāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāgara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (अपादान), एकवचन

• devāt: than/from the god
• devāt: Apadana (Standard of comparison/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (अपादान), एकवचन

• svarga: heaven
• svarga: Samasa-anga (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (compound member)

• dvāra: gate
• dvāra: Samasa-anga (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvāra (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (compound member)

• vipāṭana: O opener (of the gate)
• vipāṭana: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vi-√paṭ (धातु) + lyuṭ (कृत्)
• Form: कृदन्त (ल्युट्-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; action-noun ‘opening/tearing open’ used as epithet

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of place)

• sāgara: ocean
• sāgara: Samasa-anga (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāgara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (compound member)

• paryantam: up to / extending to
• paryantam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paryanta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; used as adjective ‘up to/ending at’ in compound

• mahā: great
• mahā: Samasa-anga (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषण, प्रातिपदिक (compound member)

• tīrtham: sacred ford/pilgrimage place
• tīrtham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• anuttamam: unsurpassed
• anuttamam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anuttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; superlative adjective

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; Revā Khaṇḍa narration—traditionally Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa conveying the Māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sāgara-paryanta Mahātīrtha

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast ocean horizon depicted as a luminous threshold; a symbolic ‘gate of heaven’ appears in the sky above the sea as pilgrims stand in awe at the shoreline.

Characters & Entities

• Sāgara (Ocean)
• Svarga (Heaven)
• Mahātīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred waters and tīrthas are portrayed as liberating thresholds—approached with faith, they become ‘gates’ to higher worlds.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A ‘mahātīrtha’ described as reaching to (or bounded by) the ocean—presented within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s sacred topography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; the verse chiefly proclaims the greatness of the ocean-linked mahātīrtha.