Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 145

Devanagari script

ततः संस्कृत्य तं बालं विधिदृष्टेन कर्मणा । समवेतौ तु दुःखार्तावागतौ स्वगृहं पुनः

Transliteration

tataḥ saṃskṛtya taṃ bālaṃ vidhidṛṣṭena karmaṇā | samavetau tu duḥkhārtāvāgatau svagṛhaṃ punaḥ

Translation

Alors, après avoir accompli pour cet enfant le saṃskāra prescrit selon le rite établi par la règle, tous deux—accablés de chagrin—retournèrent de nouveau dans leur demeure.

Word by Word

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/देश-काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = ‘ततः/then, thereafter’

• संस्कृत्य: having performed (rites)/having prepared
• संस्कृत्य: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), सम्+कृ धातोः; ‘having performed/treated/arranged’

• तम्: him/that
• तम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• बालम्: the boy/child
• बालम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• विधिदृष्टेन: by the rule-prescribed
• विधिदृष्टेन: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विधि (प्रातिपदिक) + दृष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √दृश्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (विधिना दृष्टम् = ‘prescribed by rule’); विशेषणम् ‘कर्मणा’

• कर्मणा: by the rite/action
• कर्मणा: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन

• समवेतौ: the two having come together
• समवेतौ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्+अव+इ (धातु) → समवेत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; ‘assembled/come together’

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/समुच्चय-भेदक)

• दुःखार्तौ: both afflicted with grief
• दुःखार्तौ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक) + आर्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √ऋ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; तत्पुरुषः (दुःखेन आर्तौ = ‘afflicted by sorrow’); विशेषणम् ‘समवेतौ/आगतौ’

• आगतौ: came/returned
• आगतौ: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ+गम् (धातु) → आगत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle used predicatively), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन; ‘(they) came/returned’

• स्वगृहं: to their own house
• स्वगृहं: Gati/Karma (Goal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक) + गृह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (गति/कर्म), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (स्वं गृहं = ‘one’s own house’)

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grieving couple completes a child’s prescribed saṃskāra with restrained gestures; ritual implements are set aside; they walk back to their modest home under a dimming sky.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even amid intense grief, one should uphold vidhi—performing prescribed rites with steadiness is itself dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is mentioned in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Saṃskāra performed according to vidhi (scriptural injunction), i.e., the proper prescribed rite for the child.