Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 147

Devanagari script

यावन्निरीक्षते भार्या भर्तारं दुःखपीडितम् । कृमिराशिगतं सर्वं गोविन्दं समपश्यत

Transliteration

yāvannirīkṣate bhāryā bhartāraṃ duḥkhapīḍitam | kṛmirāśigataṃ sarvaṃ govindaṃ samapaśyata

Translation

Lorsque son épouse contempla son mari, accablé de chagrin, elle vit Govinda tout entier couvert, comme envahi par un amas de vers.

Word by Word

• यावत्: until/while
• यावत्: Sambandha (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक-सम्बन्ध) = ‘यावत्/so long as, until’

• निरीक्षते: she looks
• निरीक्षते: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि+ईक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्; ‘looks at/observes’

• भार्या: the wife
• भार्या: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāryā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भर्तारम्: (her) husband
• भर्तारम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhartṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• दुःखपीडितम्: afflicted with grief
• दुःखपीडितम्: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःख (प्रातिपदिक) + पीडित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √पीड्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (दुःखेन पीडितः = ‘afflicted by sorrow’); विशेषणम् ‘भर्तारम्’

• कृमिराशिगतम्: covered/entered into a mass of worms
• कृमिराशिगतम्: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृमि (प्रातिपदिक) + राशि (प्रातिपदिक) + गत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √गम्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; (कृमिराशिं गतः = ‘gone into/covered by a heap of worms’); विशेषणम् ‘गोविन्दम्’

• सर्वम्: entirely/wholly
• सर्वम्: Karma (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् ‘गोविन्दम्’ (समस्ततः)

• गोविन्दम्: Govinda
• गोविन्दम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: govinda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• समपश्यत: she saw
• समपश्यत: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+पश्/दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; ‘saw’

Speaker

Sūta (deduced narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The wife lifts a lamp and looks at her husband; his body appears covered with writhing worms, a shocking vision in the dim light; her face shows horror and grief.

Characters & Entities

• Govinda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse uses a stark image of bodily affliction to signal the working of pātaka/karma and the urgency of dharmic remedy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; the larger Revā Khaṇḍa context typically ties remedies to sacred geography and tīrtha-sevā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated in this shloka; it presents the condition that calls for later prescription.