Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

यस्तु कुर्यान्नरश्रेष्ठ तस्य पुण्यफलं शृणु । यावन्ति तिलसंख्यानि दधिभक्तं तथैव च

Transliteration

yastu kuryānnaraśreṣṭha tasya puṇyaphalaṃ śṛṇu | yāvanti tilasaṃkhyāni dadhibhaktaṃ tathaiva ca

Translation

Mais quiconque l’accomplit, ô meilleur des hommes—écoute le fruit de son mérite : il est aussi innombrable que les grains de sésame, et de même pour l’offrande de caillé et de riz.

Word by Word

• यः: who
• यः: कर्ता (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-एकवचन (Nominative singular)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: निपात (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (contrast/emphasis)

• कुर्यात्: should do
• कुर्यात्: विधेय क्रिया (Predicate of relative clause)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative); परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष-एकवचन (3rd person singular)

• नरश्रेष्ठ: O best of men
• नरश्रेष्ठ: सम्बोधन (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर-श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (श्रेष्ठः नरः); पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन-एकवचन (Vocative singular)

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी-एकवचन (Genitive singular)

• पुण्यफलम्: the meritorious fruit
• पुण्यफलम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य-फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (पुण्यस्य फलम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचन (Accusative singular)

• शृणु: hear
• शृणु: विधेय क्रिया (Main predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative); परस्मैपद; मध्यमपुरुष-एकवचन (2nd person singular)

• यावन्ति: as many as
• यावन्ति: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यावत् (सर्वनाम/परिमाणवाचक)
• Form: परिमाणवाचक; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative plural) — qualifying 'संख्यानि'

• तिलसंख्यानि: counts equal to (the number of) sesame seeds
• तिलसंख्यानि: कर्ता/प्रमाण (Measure as subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल-संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (तिलानां संख्या); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative plural)

• दधिभक्तम्: curd-rice
• दधिभक्तम्: कर्म (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दधि-भक्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (दधियुक्तं भक्तम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया-एकवचन (Accusative singular) — (elliptic: offering/feeding)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: क्रियाविशेषण
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• एव: indeed
• एव: निपात (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक निपात

• च: and
• च: समुच्चय (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Best of men / king addressed

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic visualization of merit: sesame seeds pouring like a golden stream beside a bowl of curd-rice offered to the liṅga; the narrator gestures while the king listens; the river and lamps glow in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Revā (Narmadā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma teaches that sincere ritual action at a tīrtha yields measurable, abundant merit symbolized by vast counts like sesame seeds.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā/Narmadā tīrtha being discussed in Āvantya Khaṇḍa’s Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performing the stated worship/rite and making food offerings (dadhi-bhakta); sesame-seed count is used as a metaphor for abundance of merit.