Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

ततः स यौवनं प्राप्य ज्ञात्वा रक्षः पितामहम् । परं निर्वेदमापन्नश्चचार सुमहत्तपः

Transliteration

tataḥ sa yauvanaṃ prāpya jñātvā rakṣaḥ pitāmaham | paraṃ nirvedamāpannaścacāra sumahattapaḥ

Translation

Puis, parvenu à la jeunesse et ayant connu ses ancêtres rākṣasas, il tomba dans un profond détachement et entreprit d’immenses austérités.

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Temporal/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/अनन्तरवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: then/thereafter)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• यौवनम्: youth
• यौवनम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यौवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• प्राप्य: having attained
• प्राप्य: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपदी; ‘having attained’

• ज्ञात्वा: having known
• ज्ञात्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपदी; ‘having known’

• रक्षः: the rākṣasa-nature/demonhood
• रक्षः: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रक्षस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (रक्षः = रक्षसम्)

• पितामहम्: grandfather/forefather
• पितामहम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• परम्: great/utter
• परम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; ‘great/utter’ (निर्वेदम् विशेषयति)

• निर्वेदम्: disgust/renunciation
• निर्वेदम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्वेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• आपन्नः: having entered/attained
• आपन्नः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + पद् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘having fallen into/attained’

• चचार: performed/practised
• चचार: Kriyā (Main action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• सुमहत्: very great
• सुमहत्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु + महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (intensifying)

• तपः: austerity/penance
• तपः: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (deduced: Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa style narration within a Māhātmya frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Puruṣottama

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Aṅkūra, now a youth, turns away from Rakṣasa pride; he stands alone in a forest hermitage setting, discarding royal ornaments, beginning severe austerities.

Characters & Entities

• Aṅkūra (implied)
• Rākṣasa ancestors

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Awareness of one’s inherited tendencies can lead to nirveda (dispassion) and a deliberate return to Dharma through tapas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The narrative soon places the tapas in the Revā/Narmadā sphere, a core tīrtha-landscape of the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Austerity (tapas) is mentioned broadly; no specific vrata, dāna, or mantra is specified in this verse.