Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

ह्रीमन्तो नयसंयुक्ता अन्ये बहुगुणैर्युताः । दुर्गमामापदं प्राप्य निजकर्मसमुद्भवाम्

Transliteration

hrīmanto nayasaṃyuktā anye bahuguṇairyutāḥ | durgamāmāpadaṃ prāpya nijakarmasamudbhavām

Translation

Les uns sont modestes et guidés par la juste conduite ; d’autres sont pourvus de nombreuses vertus ; pourtant, lorsqu’ils rencontrent un malheur inévitable né de leur propre karma…

Word by Word

• hrīmantaḥ: modest/shamefaced
• hrīmantaḥ: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hrīmant (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (possessing modesty)

• nayasaṃyuktāḥ: endowed with good conduct/policy
• nayasaṃyuktāḥ: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: naya (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃ + yuj (धातु) → saṃyukta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; समासः: नय + संयुक्त (तत्पुरुष: 'endowed with policy/discipline')

• anye: others
• anye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन (nominative plural)

• bahuguṇaiḥ: with many virtues
• bahuguṇaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक) + guṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; समासः: बहु + गुण (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-प्रायः: 'many qualities'); instrumental plural

• yutāḥ: endowed
• yutāḥ: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yuj (धातु) → yuta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; 'endowed/connected'

• durgamām: hard-to-cross
• durgamām: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dur-gamā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; नञ्/दुर्-उपसर्ग-युक्त विशेषण: 'hard to go/approach' (agreeing with āpadam)

• āpadam: calamity/misfortune
• āpadam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āpad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (accusative singular)

• prāpya: having reached
• prāpya: Purvakala-kriya (Absolutive/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra + āp (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund): 'having obtained/reached'

• nijakarmasamudbhavām: arisen from one’s own karma
• nijakarmasamudbhavām: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nija (प्रातिपदिक) + karman (प्रातिपदिक) + sam + ud + bhū (धातु) → samudbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः: निजकर्म (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) + समुद्भवा (तत्पुरुष: 'arisen from'); āpadam-विशेषणम्

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; likely a Purāṇic narrator within Revākhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-khaṇḍa context (implicit)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dignified, modest devotee faces a sudden calamity—storm, loss, or exile—yet remains composed; behind, symbolic ‘karma-seeds’ (small dark beads) trail from the past into the present scene.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even virtuous people may face severe adversity because karma can mature in unavoidable ways.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā (Narmadā) sacred landscape frames the teaching, but no single tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the focus is on the moral reality of karma and adversity.