Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

दिव्यं वर्षशतं यावज्जातमात्रेण भारत । तपोजपैः कृशीभूतो दृष्टो देवेन शम्भुना

Transliteration

divyaṃ varṣaśataṃ yāvajjātamātreṇa bhārata | tapojapaiḥ kṛśībhūto dṛṣṭo devena śambhunā

Translation

Ô Bhārata, durant cent années divines, dès l’instant de sa naissance, il s’amaigrit par les austérités et le japa, et fut vu par le dieu Śambhu (Śiva).

Word by Word

• दिव्यम्: divine
• दिव्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (neuter, nominative/accusative singular); विशेषणम्

• वर्षशतम्: a hundred years
• वर्षशतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष + शत (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (neuter, nominative/accusative singular); द्विगुसमासः (शतं वर्षाणि = hundred years)

• यावत्: until/as long as
• यावत्: Avyaya (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; कालपरिमाणवाचक-सम्बन्धसूचक (indeclinable; ‘as long as/until’)

• जातमात्रेण: by (being) just born / at birth
• जातमात्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जात (कृदन्त, √जन्) + मात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (neuter, instrumental singular); तत्पुरुषः (जातस्य मात्रम् = just born)

• भारत: O Bhārata
• भारत: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन विभक्ति, एकवचन (masculine, vocative singular)

• तपोजपैः: by austerities and recitations
• तपोजपैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् + जप (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन (masculine, instrumental plural); इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (तपश्च जपश्च)

• कृशीभूतः: having become emaciated
• कृशीभूतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृशी (प्रातिपदिक) + भूत (कृदन्त, √भू)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन (masculine, nominative singular); भूत-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle sense ‘become’); कर्मधारयः (कृशी एव भूतः)

• दृष्टः: was seen
• दृष्टः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दृश् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘was seen’

• देवेन: by the god
• देवेन: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (masculine, instrumental singular)

• शम्भुना: by Śambhu (Śiva)
• शम्भुना: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शम्भु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (masculine, instrumental singular)

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (continued context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhārata (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A newly-born yet ascetic figure, emaciated by tapas and japa for ‘a hundred divine years’, stands in severe posture; Śambhu appears before him in a luminous epiphany.

Characters & Entities

• Bhārata
• Śambhu
• Śiva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sustained tapas and japa ripen into divine vision; Śiva reveals himself to intense, lifelong discipline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The narrative context continues at Kanakhala Tīrtha, though the verse itself focuses on Garuḍa’s austerity and Śiva’s sight.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas (austerity) and japa (repetition of sacred formulae) as spiritual disciplines leading to darśana.