Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

ध्यायन्तौ तस्थतुर्देवं शतबाहुद्विजोत्तमौ । मासार्धेन मृतो राजा शतबाहुर्महामनाः

Transliteration

dhyāyantau tasthaturdevaṃ śatabāhudvijottamau | māsārdhena mṛto rājā śatabāhurmahāmanāḥ

Translation

Den Herrn betrachtend, verharrten jene beiden — Śatabāhu und der vortreffliche Brāhmane — standhaft. Nach einem halben Monat starb der großgesinnte König Śatabāhu.

Word by Word

• ध्यायन्तौ: meditating (the two)
• ध्यायन्तौ: Karta (Agent as participle/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्यै (धातु) + शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकालिक शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन

• तस्थतुः: stood/remained
• तस्थतुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), द्विवचन, परस्मैपद

• देवम्: the god (deity)
• देवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• शतबाहु: Śatabāhu
• शतबाहु: None
• Type: Noun
• Root: शतबाहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (समासपूर्वपद)

• द्विजोत्तमौ: the two best of brāhmaṇas
• द्विजोत्तमौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (द्विजानाम् उत्तमौ)

• मासार्धेन: in half a month
• मासार्धेन: Karana (Measure/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मास + अर्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (मासस्य अर्धम्)

• मृतः: died/was dead
• मृतः: Kriya (Predicative participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• राजा: the king
• राजा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• शतबाहुः: Śatabāhu
• शतबाहुः: Apposition (समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत + बाहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (यस्य शतं बाहवः सः)

• महामनाः: great-minded
• महामनाः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा + मनस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (महान् मनः यस्य सः)

Speaker

Narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Hanūmanteśvara-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King within the frame (nṛpa) / addressed audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two devotees remain motionless in meditation; time passes (suggested by moon phases or a changing sky). The king’s body slackens as he dies peacefully, still oriented toward the deity, while the brāhmaṇa remains composed.

Characters & Entities

• Śatabāhu
• Deva/Īśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steady contemplation of the Lord, even unto death, is portrayed as a sanctified culmination of disciplined devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Implicitly Hanūmanteśvara and its tīrtha-atmosphere within Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Sustained dhyāna (meditation) as part of the devotional observance.