Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

अप्सरोगणसंकीर्णे दिव्यशब्दानुनादिते । दिव्यगन्धानुलिप्ताङ्गो दिव्यालङ्कारभूषितः

Transliteration

apsarogaṇasaṃkīrṇe divyaśabdānunādite | divyagandhānuliptāṅgo divyālaṅkārabhūṣitaḥ

Translation

In that heaven thronged with hosts of Apsarās and resonant with celestial sounds, his body is anointed with divine fragrances and adorned with heavenly ornaments.

Word by Word

• अप्सरः-गण-संकीर्णे: in (a place) crowded with groups of apsarases
• अप्सरः-गण-संकीर्णे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अप्सरस् (प्रातिपदिक) + गण (प्रातिपदिक) + संकीर्ण (कृदन्त, √कॄ/किर्?; here adjectival 'mixed/filled')
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; विशेषण (locative descriptive)

• दिव्य-शब्द-अनुनादिते: resounding with divine sounds
• दिव्य-शब्द-अनुनादिते: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक) + शब्द (प्रातिपदिक) + अनुनादित (कृदन्त, √नद्, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; विशेषण

• दिव्य-गन्ध-अनुलिप्त-अङ्गः: whose limbs are anointed with divine fragrance
• दिव्य-गन्ध-अनुलिप्त-अङ्गः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक) + गन्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + अनुलिप्त (कृदन्त, √लिप्, क्त) + अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—'यस्य अङ्गानि दिव्यगन्धेन अनुलिप्तानि'

• दिव्य-अलङ्कार-भूषितः: adorned with divine ornaments
• दिव्य-अलङ्कार-भूषितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक) + अलङ्कार (प्रातिपदिक) + भूषित (कृदन्त, √भूष्, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Narrator (Skanda Purāṇa voice) describing the svarga-state to a Pāṇḍava listener

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: tirtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant blessed soul in a celestial court: apsarās surrounding, gandharva music in the air; the figure’s limbs gleam with divine perfume and jeweled ornaments, set against luminous svarga architecture.

Characters & Entities

• Apsarās
• Svarga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa portrays puṇya not abstractly but as a vivid, embodied celestial experience, motivating dharmic practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly the Revā-khaṇḍa tīrtha, since this celestial state is presented as the fruit of the tīrtha-centered dharma.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None here; it is a descriptive continuation of the promised svarga-phala.