Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

विशेषेण तु कुर्वीत श्राद्धं सर्वयुगादिषु । मन्वन्तरादयो वत्स श्रूयन्तां च चतुर्दश

Transliteration

viśeṣeṇa tu kurvīta śrāddhaṃ sarvayugādiṣu | manvantarādayo vatsa śrūyantāṃ ca caturdaśa

Translation

Besonders soll man Śrāddha mit Sorgfalt an allen Anfängen der Yugas und an anderen heiligen Zeitwenden vollziehen. Nun, liebes Kind, höre die vierzehn (heiligen Zeiträume), beginnend mit den Manvantaras.

Word by Word

• विशेषेण: especially
• विशेषेण: Modifier (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया-एकवचनरूपेण क्रियाविशेषणवत् (instrumental used adverbially: 'especially')

• तु: indeed
• तु: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधसूचक-निपात (particle: 'but/indeed')

• कुर्वीत: should perform
• कुर्वीत: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha rite
• श्राद्धम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• सर्वयुगादिषु: in all yugas and the like (occasions)
• सर्वयुगादिषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + युग (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• मन्वन्तरादयः: Manvantaras and others
• मन्वन्तरादयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्वन्तर (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• वत्स: O dear one/child
• वत्स: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वत्स (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• श्रूयन्ताम्: let (them) be heard / listen (to them)
• श्रूयन्ताम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural), आत्मनेपद, कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive sense: 'let them be heard')

• च: and
• च: Connector (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction: 'and')

• चतुर्दश: fourteen
• चतुर्दश: Sankhya (Numeral qualifier/संख्या)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्दश (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्दः; प्रथमा-बहुवचनार्थे (numeral used predicatively: 'fourteen')

Speaker

Deductive (Revākhaṇḍa narrative voice; likely a senior sage/teacher addressing a disciple)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Uttānapāda

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Īśvara instructs about performing śrāddha especially at yuga-beginnings and other cosmic thresholds; a visual overlay of cosmic cycles (yugas/manvantaras) above a riverbank ritual scene.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śrāddha gains heightened potency when performed at cosmically significant time-junctions like Yuga beginnings and Manvantara-related periods.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse emphasizes sacred time (kāla) more than a single site; it belongs to the Revā Khaṇḍa milieu connected with the Revā (Narmadā) region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform Śrāddha especially on Yuga-beginnings and other major calendrical/cosmic junctures, with a forthcoming list of fourteen such periods.