Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

तदहं सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि शृणुष्वैकमना नृप । यावन्तो रोमकूपाः स्युः सर्वाङ्गेषु पृथक्पृथक्

Transliteration

tadahaṃ sampravakṣyāmi śṛṇuṣvaikamanā nṛpa | yāvanto romakūpāḥ syuḥ sarvāṅgeṣu pṛthakpṛthak

Translation

Je vais à présent l’exposer; écoute d’un esprit unifié, ô roi : autant qu’il y a de pores des poils, distincts sur chacun des membres du corps—

Word by Word

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• sampravakṣyāmi: I will explain fully
• sampravakṣyāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-vac (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; उपसर्गः सम्+प्र

• śṛṇuṣva: listen
• śṛṇuṣva: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), आत्मनेपद, मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन

• eka-manāḥ: O one-pointed-minded (attentive one)
• eka-manāḥ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka-manās (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (एकं मनः यस्य)

• nṛpa: O king
• nṛpa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• yāvantaḥ: as many as
• yāvantaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yāvat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; परिमाणवाचक (as many as)

• romakūpāḥ: hair-pores
• romakūpāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: roma-kūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (रोम्णां कूपाः)

• syuḥ: may be / would be
• syuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• sarvāṅgeṣu: in all limbs
• sarvāṅgeṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva-aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (सर्वाणि अङ्गानि)

• pṛthak: separately
• pṛthak: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pṛthak (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (separately)

• pṛthak: each by each
• pṛthak: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pṛthak (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरुक्ति-प्रयोगः (emphatic repetition)

Speaker

Narrator (likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing a king (nṛpa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śukla Tīrtha / Revā-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira (nṛpa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage-like narrator addresses a seated king; behind them, a symbolic human figure is overlaid with countless tiny points (romakūpas) transforming into lamps or lotuses—visualizing innumerable fruits to be described.

Characters & Entities

• nṛpa (king)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa prepares the listener for an immense, carefully quantified fruit of pilgrimage/rite, urging attentive hearing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śukla Tīrtha, whose merits are being detailed in this adhyāya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite in this verse; it introduces a detailed statement of results (phala) using the metaphor of hair-pores.