Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

यथा गोदावरीयात्रा कर्तव्या मुनिशासनात् । चतुर्विंशतिमे वर्षे तथेयं देवभाषितम्

Transliteration

yathā godāvarīyātrā kartavyā muniśāsanāt | caturviṃśatime varṣe tatheyaṃ devabhāṣitam

Translation

Wie die Wallfahrt zur Godāvarī nach dem Gebot der Weisen zu vollziehen ist, so ist auch diese Übung—von den Göttern verkündet—im vierundzwanzigsten Jahr auszuführen.

Word by Word

• yathā: just as / in the manner that
• yathā: Sambandha (correlative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb/conjunction (यथार्थ-सम्बन्धे)

• godāvarīyātrā: the Godāvarī pilgrimage
• godāvarīyātrā: Karta (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: godāvarī-yātrā (प्रातिपदिक; गोदावरी + यात्रा)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: गोदावर्याः यात्रा)

• kartavyā: to be done / must be performed
• kartavyā: Karta-predicate (obligation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛ (धातु) → kartavya (कृदन्त)
• Form: Gerundive/obligatory participle (तव्यत्), Feminine, Nominative, Singular; agrees with yātrā

• muniśāsanāt: from the sage’s injunction
• muniśāsanāt: Hetu/Apadana (cause/source: ‘by/from the command’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni-śāsana (प्रातिपदिक; मुनि + शासन)
• Form: Neuter, Ablative (5th/पञ्चमी), Singular; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: मुनेः शासनम्)

• caturviṃśatime: in the twenty-fourth
• caturviṃśatime: Adhikarana (time)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: caturviṃśatitama (प्रातिपदिक; चतुर्विंशति + तम)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; ordinal adjective agreeing with varṣe

• varṣe: year
• varṣe: Adhikarana (time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular

• tathā: so / likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (correlative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb/correlative particle

• iyam: this (statement/teaching)
• iyam: Karta (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• devabhāṣitam: spoken by the gods / divine utterance
• devabhāṣitam: Karta-predicate (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: deva-bhāṣita (प्रातिपदिक; देव + भाषित)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त ‘bhāṣita’; तत्पुरुष-समास (देवेन भाषितम्) used predicatively with iyam (understood as ‘idam vacanam’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Revā Khaṇḍa tīrtha-māhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā–Kumbheśvara (observance tied to cycle)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sages instruct pilgrims beside a river; a symbolic wheel of time marked '24' appears, while a distant vignette shows Godāvarī pilgrimage as the model of rṣi-śāsana.

Characters & Entities

• Godāvarī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is not merely personal preference; it is a dhārmic act to be done in alignment with authoritative sacred instruction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse references the Godāvarī pilgrimage as a benchmark while pointing to the Revā-region tīrtha being discussed in this chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A rule of observance: the yātrā/rite is to be performed as enjoined by sages, specifically noted for the twenty-fourth year.