Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

ततश्चानन्तरं देवश्चिन्तयानो महेश्वरः । न स्कन्दो न हरिर्ब्रह्मा यः कार्येषु क्षमोऽधुना

Transliteration

tataścānantaraṃ devaścintayāno maheśvaraḥ | na skando na harirbrahmā yaḥ kāryeṣu kṣamo'dhunā

Translation

Daraufhin sann Maheśvara sogleich nach: „Weder Skanda noch Hari noch Brahmā ist jetzt der Geeignete, diese Lage zu bewältigen.“

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time sequence/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — क्रम/अनन्तरार्थक (then/thereupon)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — समुच्चय (conjunction)

• anantaram: immediately; thereafter
• anantaram: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time circumstance/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anantara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभूत-नपुंसक-रूप; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: immediately/afterwards)

• devaḥ: the god
• devaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• cintayānaḥ: thinking; pondering
• cintayānaḥ: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √cint (चिन्त् धातु) + -āna (शानच्)
• Form: शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (present participle, Ātmanepada sense), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• maheśvaraḥ: Maheshvara (the Great Lord)
• maheśvaraḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — निषेध (negation particle)

• skandaḥ: Skanda
• skandaḥ: Karta (Subject in ellipsis/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: skanda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• na: nor
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — निषेध

• hariḥ: Hari (Vishnu)
• hariḥ: Karta (Subject in ellipsis/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• brahmā: Brahmā
• brahmā: Karta (Subject in ellipsis/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — सम्बन्धसूचक (relative pronoun)

• kāryeṣu: in tasks; in affairs
• kāryeṣu: Adhikaraṇa (Sphere/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन (Plural)

• kṣamaḥ: capable; competent
• kṣamaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — विशेषण

• adhunā: now
• adhunā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time circumstance/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adhunā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — कालवाचक (now/at present)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha milieu

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Maheśvara, sensing immediate danger, turns inward in thought: neither Skanda, nor Hari, nor Brahmā is presently the suitable one to handle this specific predicament.

Characters & Entities

• Maheśvara (Śiva)
• Skanda
• Hari (Viṣṇu)
• Brahmā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even divine governance operates through discernment and appropriate means; right response depends on the nature of the crisis.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None explicitly; the verse is part of the Revā Khaṇḍa storyline rather than a tīrtha-stuti.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.