Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

सर्गश्च प्रतिसर्गश्च वंशो मन्वन्तराणि च । वंशानुचरितं चैव पुराणं पञ्चलक्षणम्

Transliteration

sargaśca pratisargaśca vaṃśo manvantarāṇi ca | vaṃśānucaritaṃ caiva purāṇaṃ pañcalakṣaṇam

Translation

La création et la recréation, les généalogies, les ères des Manu, et les récits des lignées de rois et de ṛṣi : ces cinq caractères définissent ce qu’on nomme un Purāṇa.

Word by Word

• सर्गः: creation
• सर्गः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन (nominative singular)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• प्रतिसर्गः: secondary creation
• प्रतिसर्गः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prati + sarga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष ("re-creation/secondary creation")

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• वंशः: lineage
• वंशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaṃśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति; एकवचन

• मन्वन्तराणि: Manu-periods
• मन्वन्तराणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manu + antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति; बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ("periods of Manus")

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• वंशानुचरितम्: accounts of dynasties
• वंशानुचरितम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaṃśa + anucarita (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ("accounts of the dynasties"; anucarita = "followed narrative")

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक निपात (particle of emphasis: "indeed/just")

• पुराणम्: a Purāṇa
• पुराणम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन

• पञ्चलक्षणम्: five-charactered
• पञ्चलक्षणम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañca + lakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया; एकवचन; द्विगु-समास ("having five characteristics")

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ṛṣisattama

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: the teacher enumerates five ‘marks’ on fingers or with a stylus on a palm-leaf; behind him, symbolic vignettes of creation, dissolution, Manus, and royal lineages appear like a narrative frieze.

Characters & Entities

• Manu
• Manvantara
• Purāṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇa preserves dharma through cosmic origins and sacred history—linking creation, time-cycles, and righteous lineages.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; this is a formal definition of Purāṇa used as a gateway to later tīrtha-māhātmya narratives.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; the verse defines the canonical features of Purāṇic composition.