Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

जपहोमपरो भक्त्या क्षणं ध्यात्वा च तिष्ठति । ज्वलमानात्तु कपिला तावत्कुण्डात्समुत्थिता

Transliteration

japahomaparo bhaktyā kṣaṇaṃ dhyātvā ca tiṣṭhati | jvalamānāttu kapilā tāvatkuṇḍātsamutthitā

Translation

„In hingebungsvoller Versenkung in Japa und Homa hielt er einen Augenblick inne und meditierte. Da erhob sich Kapilā, in strahlender Glut, sogleich aus der Kuṇḍa, der heiligen Grube.“

Word by Word

• जप-होम-परः: devoted to japa and homa
• जप-होम-परः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: japa (प्रातिपदिक) + homa (प्रातिपदिक) + para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (qualifying implied ब्रह्मा)

• भक्त्या: with devotion
• भक्त्या: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• क्षणम्: for a moment
• क्षणम्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular) — कालपरिमाण (duration)

• ध्यात्वा: having meditated
• ध्यात्वा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्यै (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• तिष्ठति: stands, remains
• तिष्ठति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• ज्वलमानात्: from (that which is) blazing
• ज्वलमानात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्वल् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (Present active participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular); स्रोतः (from the blazing [pit])

• तु: then/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/अन्वयबोधक-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• कपिला: Kapilā (the cow)
• कपिला: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapilā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• तावत्: at that moment
• तावत्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: परिमाण/अवधिबोधक-अव्यय (adverb: then/so much/at that time)

• कुण्डात्: from the pit/pool
• कुण्डात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular)

• समुत्थिता: arisen, emerged
• समुत्थिता: Kriya (Predicative to subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + उत् + स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (Past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); कर्तरि प्रयोगे (as predicate adjective to कपिला)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (narrating)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapilā Tīrtha

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājā (Bhārata)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A blazing sacrificial altar: Brahmā (or a great sage-figure) performing homa, hands poised; from the fire-pit rises Kapilā, radiant and cow-formed, emerging in a burst of golden-red light; attendants recoil in awe.

Characters & Entities

• Kapilā
• kuṇḍa
• japa
• homa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional discipline—japa, homa, and meditation—invites divine manifestation and sanctifies space into a tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kapilā-tīrtha’s sanctity is rooted in the manifestation of Kapilā from a sacrificial kuṇḍa, forming the tīrtha’s origin story.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Japa (mantra recitation), homa (fire offering), and dhyāna (meditation) are explicitly referenced as the devotional context.