Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

न दृष्टः शूलके विप्रो भराक्रान्त्या युधिष्ठिर । स्खलिता तस्य जानुभ्यां शूलस्थस्य पतिव्रता

Transliteration

na dṛṣṭaḥ śūlake vipro bharākrāntyā yudhiṣṭhira | skhalitā tasya jānubhyāṃ śūlasthasya pativratā

Translation

Ô Yudhiṣṭhira, le brāhmane sur le pieu ne fut pas remarqué à cause du fardeau accablant ; l’épouse fidèle trébucha contre les genoux de son mari, fixé au pieu.

Word by Word

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय

• दृष्टः: was seen
• दृष्टः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु) → दृष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘was seen’

• शूलके: on the stake
• शूलके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूलक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘on the stake/impalement stake’

• विप्रः: the brāhmaṇa
• विप्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भराक्रान्त्या: due to the burden’s pressure
• भराक्रान्त्या: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भर (प्रातिपदिक) + आक्रान्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी/कर्मधारयभाव): ‘by the pressure/overwhelming of weight’; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• युधिष्ठिर: O Yudhiṣṭhira
• युधिष्ठिर: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• स्खलिता: slipped, stumbled
• स्खलिता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्खल् (धातु) → स्खलित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle, active sense); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (सा); ‘slipped/fell’

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• जानुभ्याम्: with (her) two knees
• जानुभ्याम्: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जानु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), द्विवचन (Dual)

• शूलस्थस्य: of the one on the stake
• शूलस्थस्य: Sambandha (Qualifier of possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शूल (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष: शूले स्थितः; पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (तस्य-विशेषण)

• पतिव्रता: the devoted wife
• पतिव्रता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति (प्रातिपदिक) + व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि: ‘she whose vow is (devotion to) her husband’; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (frame-address to Yudhiṣṭhira)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night scene: a brāhmaṇa fixed upon a stake; Śāṇḍilī, carrying her husband, fails to notice him due to the crushing load and stumbles against the knees of the impaled man—moment of tragic recognition suspended.

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• vipra (brāhmaṇa)
• pativratā
• śūla (stake)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human suffering can arise from karmic forces and circumstance; dharma is tested in moments of shock, burden, and helplessness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is directly praised in this verse; it is a dramatic narrative moment within the Revā Khaṇḍa context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is stated; the verse describes an event that triggers moral and karmic reflection.