Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

यन्त्रादानैः प्रतोलीभिरुच्चैश्चान्यैः सुशोभिता । देवतायतनैर्दिव्यैराश्रमैर्गहनैर्युता

Transliteration

yantrādānaiḥ pratolībhiruccaiścānyaiḥ suśobhitā | devatāyatanairdivyairāśramairgahanairyutā

Translation

Sie war herrlich durch hohe Tore und andere eindrucksvolle Bauten; und sie war versehen mit göttlichen Tempeln der Götter sowie mit abgeschiedenen Āśramas.

Word by Word

• यन्त्र-आदानैः: with devices/contrivances
• यन्त्र-आदानैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यन्त्र (प्रातिपदिक) + आदान (प्रातिपदिक; 'taking/receiving; apparatus' in context 'devices/contrivances')
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (यन्त्राणाम् आदानैः—'with mechanical contrivances/structures')

• प्रतोलीभिः: with gateways/arches
• प्रतोलीभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रतोली (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Instrumental plural)

• उच्चैः: high/aloft
• उच्चैः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उच्चैः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• अन्यैः: with other (things)
• अन्यैः: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifier to implied items)

• सु-शोभिता: beautifully adorned
• सु-शोभिता: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + शोभित (कृदन्त; √शुभ्/शोभ्; past participle)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; सु- उपसर्गेण 'well/beautifully'

• देवतā-आयतनैः: with temples
• देवतā-आयतनैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवता (प्रातिपदिक) + आयतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (देवतायाः आयतनैः—'with temples of deities')

• दिव्यैः: divine/splendid
• दिव्यैः: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (देवतायतनैः)

• आश्रमैः: with hermitages
• आश्रमैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• गहनैः: secluded/dense
• गहनैः: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (आश्रमैः)

• युता: endowed with
• युता: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युक्त (कृदन्त; √युज् 'to join'; past participle)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (endowed/possessed with)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Towering city gateways opening into avenues lined with shrines; beyond, a shaded grove with a quiet hermitage where sages sit in meditation.

Characters & Entities

• devatāyatana (temples)
• āśrama (hermitages)
• Vārāṇasī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A kṣetra is sanctified by both public worship (temples) and private realization (forest-like āśramas).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī (Kāśī), praised through its sacred infrastructure—shrines and hermitages.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse emphasizes the presence of temples and āśrama life that support pūjā, vrata, and tapas.