Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

येनैव स्थापितो देवः पूज्यते वर्षसंख्यया । तावद्युगसहस्राणि तस्य लोकं समश्नुते

Transliteration

yenaiva sthāpito devaḥ pūjyate varṣasaṃkhyayā | tāvadyugasahasrāṇi tasya lokaṃ samaśnute

Translation

Autant d’années que la divinité qu’il a établie est honorée par le culte, autant de milliers de yuga il atteint et jouit du monde de cette divinité.

Word by Word

• येन: by whom
• येन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle: ‘indeed/only’)

• स्थापितः: installed
• स्थापितः: Kriya (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था + णिच् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मणि (installed)

• देवः: the deity
• देवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• पूज्यते: is worshipped
• पूज्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान/Present); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive: ‘is worshipped’)

• वर्षसंख्यया: by a count of years (for years)
• वर्षसंख्यया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष + संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (‘वर्षाणां संख्या’)

• तावत्: for that long
• तावत्: Sambandha (Correlation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाणवाचक (correlative: ‘so much/for that long’)

• युगसहस्राणि: thousands of yugas
• युगसहस्राणि: Kala-adhikarana (Temporal extent/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (‘युगानां सहस्राणि’)

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

• लोकम्: world, realm
• लोकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• समश्नुते: attains
• समश्नुते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान/Present); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; उपसर्ग ‘सम्’ (attains/partakes)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pratiṣṭhita-deva-sthāna (installed deity’s site)

Type: temple

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A time-lapse tableau: the same shrine is shown across generations—kings, merchants, villagers offering lamps and flowers—while above, the installer’s subtle form enjoys the deity’s loka for yuga upon yuga, measured by the years of worship below.

Characters & Entities

• Deva (installed deity)
• Yuga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Merit is amplified by continuity: establishing a deity whose worship endures generates long-lasting spiritual fruit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching occurs within the Soma-tīrtha/Candrahāsya māhātmya of Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Deva-sthāpanā (installation) linked with ongoing pūjā over years as the measure of resulting merit.