Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

ततश्चिक्षेप सात्मानमेकचित्ता नराधिप । नगार्द्धे पतिता यावत्तावद्दृष्टाः सुराङ्गनाः

Transliteration

tataścikṣepa sātmānamekacittā narādhipa | nagārddhe patitā yāvattāvaddṛṣṭāḥ surāṅganāḥ

Translation

Dann, o König, mit auf einen Punkt gesammeltem Geist, stürzte sie sich hinab. Als sie zum Berghang fiel, wurden in eben diesem Augenblick himmlische Jungfrauen erblickt.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘then/thereafter’

• चिक्षेप: threw, cast
• चिक्षेप: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्षिप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदी

• स-आत्मानम्: herself (with her own self)
• स-आत्मानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + स (उपसर्ग/सह)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; ‘स’ = सह/सम् (with/along with) उपपद-प्रयोग

• एकचित्ता: single-minded
• एकचित्ता: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक) + चित्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (one-pointed-minded)

• नराधिप: O king
• नराधिप: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक) + अधिप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• नग-अर्द्धे: on the mountainside / on half of the mountain
• नग-अर्द्धे: Adhikarana (Location/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नग (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्द्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन; ‘mountain-half/side’

• पतिता: having fallen
• पतिता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पत् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (भूतकर्मणि/Perfect passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘fallen’

• यावत्: until, as long as
• यावत्: Sambandha (Temporal relation/कालसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्ध/परिमाण) — ‘as long as/until’

• तावत्: so long, then
• तावत्: Sambandha (Correlative/अन्वय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (परिमाण/तुलना) — ‘so long/then’

• दृष्टाः: were seen / appeared
• दृष्टाः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (अद्यतनभूत/Aorist), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपदी/परस्मैपदी-प्रयोगानुसार ‘they were seen/appeared’ (कर्मणि-प्रयोग)

• सुर-अङ्गनाः: celestial maidens
• सुर-अङ्गनाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्गना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Revā Khaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śūlabheda

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Narādhipa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A resolute ascetic woman (Bhānumatī) casts herself from a rocky slope; at the very moment of descent, radiant apsarās appear in the sky, stopping the scene from becoming tragic and turning it wondrous.

Characters & Entities

• surāṅganās (celestial maidens)
• mountain slope

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Single-minded resolve in a sacred context is shown to draw immediate divine acknowledgement—signs appear when a vow reaches its decisive culmination.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The mountain setting connected to the Śūlabheda tīrtha episode in Revā Khaṇḍa is implicitly highlighted as a place where divine beings manifest.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse describes the climactic act of the vow undertaken with ekāgratā (one-pointedness), rather than a standard ritual like snāna or japa.