Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

केचिद्द्वादशभिर्वर्षैः षड्भरन्ये तपोधनाः । त्रिभिः संवत्सरैः केचित्केचित्संवत्सरेण तु

Transliteration

keciddvādaśabhirvarṣaiḥ ṣaḍbharanye tapodhanāḥ | tribhiḥ saṃvatsaraiḥ kecitkecitsaṃvatsareṇa tu

Translation

Certains, riches d’austérités, l’obtiennent en douze ans, d’autres en six. Certains en trois ans, et certains, vraiment, en une seule année.

Word by Word

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (किम् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक

• dvādaśabhiḥ: by/with twelve
• dvādaśabhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvādaśan (द्वादशन् संख्याशब्द-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (contextual), तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषण (numeral adjective)

• varṣaiḥ: years
• varṣaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (वर्ष प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• ṣaḍbhiḥ: by/with six
• ṣaḍbhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣaṣ (षष् संख्याशब्द-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषण

• bharaiḥ: burdens/loads (as a measure)
• bharaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhara (भर प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• anye: others
• anye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (अन्य प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• tapodhanāḥ: ascetics whose wealth is austerity
• tapodhanāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (तपस् प्रातिपदिक) + dhana (धन प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (येषां धनं तपः ते)

• tribhiḥ: by/with three
• tribhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (त्रि संख्याशब्द-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषण

• saṃvatsaraiḥ: years
• saṃvatsaraiḥ: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃvatsara (संवत्सर प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (किम् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (किम् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक

• saṃvatsareṇa: by/within a year
• saṃvatsareṇa: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃvatsara (संवत्सर प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (तु)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/विरोध (particle: but/indeed)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (contextual attribution within Āvantya/Revā narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sequence-like depiction: groups of ascetics practicing tapas on the Narmadā bank, with symbolic markers of time (twelve, six, three, one year) shown as seasonal cycles around the same riverbank hermitage.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual attainment can arise in different timeframes depending on intensity and steadiness of tapas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse continues the Revā/Narmadā context, implying the potency of practice connected to Narmadā-tīra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not a single ritual; it emphasizes sustained sādhana/tapas over set durations (12, 6, 3, or 1 year).