Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

तस्य यज्ञवराहस्य विष्णोरमिततेजसः । प्रणामं ये प्रकुर्वन्ति तेषामपि नमाम्यहम्

Transliteration

tasya yajñavarāhasya viṣṇoramitatejasaḥ | praṇāmaṃ ye prakurvanti teṣāmapi namāmyaham

Translation

Ich verneige mich selbst vor denen, die sich vor jenem Viṣṇu von unermesslichem Glanz niederwerfen — dem Opfer-Varāha.

Word by Word

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• यज्ञवराहस्य: of Yajña-Varāha
• यज्ञवराहस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ-वराह (प्रातिपदिक; यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक) + वराह (प्रातिपदिक))
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (यज्ञः एव वराहः/यज्ञसम्बन्धी वराहः)

• विष्णोः: of Viṣṇu
• विष्णोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• अमिततेजसः: of immeasurable splendor
• अमिततेजसः: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमित-तेजस् (प्रातिपदिक; अमित (उपसर्ग-निषेध + मि (धातु) → कृदन्त/विशेषण) + तेजस् (प्रातिपदिक))
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (अमितं तेजः यस्य) / विशेषणम् (विष्णोः)

• प्रणामम्: salutation
• प्रणामम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रणाम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धक-यः

• प्रकुर्वन्ति: perform/do
• प्रकुर्वन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Avyaya (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• नमामि: I bow
• नमामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नम् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Andhaka (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) region (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotional tableau where the speaker bows toward an imagined radiant Varāha—boar-headed, divine, holding the Earth aloft—while also bowing to devotees who prostrate before that form; sacrificial fire imagery subtly frames the scene.

Characters & Entities

• Yajña-Varāha
• Viṣṇu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord is worshipped as Yajña itself—devotion and sacred duty are not separate from the divine.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tirtha is named; the verse is a devotional formula within the Revā Khaṇḍa narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly honors yajña as sacred, but the explicit act mentioned is praṇāma (prostration).