Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

अवतारो यत्र तत्र संस्थितिं वै ततः कुरु

Transliteration

avatāro yatra tatra saṃsthitiṃ vai tataḥ kuru

Translation

Là où se produit ta descente (manifestation), établis-y aussi ta présence demeurante.

Word by Word

• avatāraḥ: incarnation / descent
• avatāraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avatāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धबोधक देशवाचक (relative adverb: where)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (correlative adverb: there)

• saṃsthitiṃ: establishment / presence
• saṃsthitiṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsthiti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (indeed)

• tataḥ: thereafter / from there
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Source/sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्-अर्थे (from that/thereafter)

• kuru: do / make
• kuru: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Māṇḍavya (contextual continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: General principle for Revā-khaṇḍa tīrthas (not a single named tirtha in this verse)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Not specified in excerpt

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A concise injunction/request: wherever the deity descends, let that place also become a seat of abiding presence—suggested as a map-like spread of sacred points along a river.

Characters & Entities

• Avatāra (manifestation)
• Saṃsthiti (abiding presence)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine manifestation is meant to sanctify space: wherever the deity ‘descends,’ that place becomes worthy of enduring worship and pilgrimage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

It generalizes the Revā-khaṇḍa principle of sacred geography: the deity’s manifestation turns a location into a lasting holy seat.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a theological request for permanent divine presence.