Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

यस्याः संस्मरणादेव दौर्भाग्यं प्रलयं व्रजेत् । न दौर्भाग्यात्परं लोके दुःखाद्दुःखतरं किल

Transliteration

yasyāḥ saṃsmaraṇādeva daurbhāgyaṃ pralayaṃ vrajet | na daurbhāgyātparaṃ loke duḥkhādduḥkhataraṃ kila

Translation

Par le seul souvenir d’Elle, la malchance s’en va vers l’anéantissement. Vraiment, en ce monde, rien n’est plus douloureux que l’infortune, et nulle peine n’est plus lourde que la peine.

Word by Word

• yasyāḥ: of whom; whose
• yasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धे (of whom/whose)

• saṃsmaraṇāt: from remembering; by recollection
• saṃsmaraṇāt: Hetu/Apadana (Cause/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃ-smaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक; √smṛ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (हेतु/अपादान), एकवचन; ‘संस्मरणात्’ = स्मरणस्य हेतोः

• eva: indeed; just
• eva: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक निपात

• daurbhāgyam: misfortune
• daurbhāgyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daurbhāgya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• pralayam: destruction; dissolution
• pralayam: Gati-Karma (Goal as object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pralaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन; ‘प्रलयम्’ = नाशम्

• vrajet: would go; would come to
• vrajet: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vraj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• daurbhāgyāt: than misfortune
• daurbhāgyāt: Apadana (Comparison/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daurbhāgya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (अपादान/तुलना), एकवचन; ‘-त्’ = ‘than’

• param: greater
• param: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (higher/greater)

• loke: in the world
• loke: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• duḥkhāt: than sorrow
• duḥkhāt: Apadana (Comparison/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (अपादान/तुलना), एकवचन

• duḥkhataraṃ: more painful; worse
• duḥkhataraṃ: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duḥkha (प्रातिपदिक) + tara (तरप्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तरप्-प्रत्ययान्त (comparative)

• kila: indeed; it is said
• kila: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kila (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (reportive/emphatic: ‘indeed/it is said’)

Speaker

Māṇḍavya (context continues from his speech)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ambikā-smaraṇa within Śūlapāṇi/Revā context (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śiva/Devī context; statement functions as doctrinal emphasis within dialogue

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant Ambikā appears as a compassionate mother; dark clouds of misfortune dissolve around the devotee as remembrance arises.

Characters & Entities

• Devī (implied)
• Saṃsmaraṇa (remembrance)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devī-smaraṇa (remembering the Goddess) is presented as a direct remedy for daurbhāgya and as a path to inner resilience against suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The emphasis is devotional rather than geographic in this verse; it supports the wider Revā-khaṇḍa setting by highlighting Devī’s power accessible to pilgrims and devotees.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Saṃsmaraṇa (intent remembrance) of the Goddess.