Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

रेणुकाप्रत्ययार्थाय अद्यापि पितृदेवताः । दृश्यन्ते देवमार्गस्थाः सर्वपापक्षयंकराः

Transliteration

reṇukāpratyayārthāya adyāpi pitṛdevatāḥ | dṛśyante devamārgasthāḥ sarvapāpakṣayaṃkarāḥ

Translation

Aujourd’hui encore, afin d’affermir la foi en Reṇukā, on voit les divinités Pitṛ se tenir sur le Devamārga, dispensant l’anéantissement de tous les péchés.

Word by Word

• रेणुका: Renukā
• रेणुका: Sambandha (Genitival/Relation within compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रेणुका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/सम्बोधन? (context in compound), एकवचन; समासपूर्वपद (feminine stem)

• प्रत्यय: faith/conviction
• प्रत्यय: Sambandha (Relation within compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रत्यय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/सम्बन्ध (in compound), एकवचन; समासमध्यपद

• अर्थाय: for the purpose (of Renukā-faith)
• अर्थाय: Sampradana (Purpose/for the sake of)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th/दत्तिव), एकवचन; रेणुका-प्रत्यय-अर्थ (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) + चतुर्थी

• अद्य: today/now
• अद्य: Adhikarana (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अद्य (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• पितृदेवताः: the ancestral deities
• पितृदेवताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक) + देवता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (देवता), प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; पितॄणां देवताः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• दृश्यन्ते: are seen/appear
• दृश्यन्ते: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

• देवमार्गस्थाः: standing on the divine path
• देवमार्गस्थाः: Visheshana (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + मार्ग (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; देवमार्गे स्थाः (सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष); स्थ = √स्था (धातु) से क्त/निष्ठा-प्रत्ययार्थक विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक

• सर्वपापक्षयंकराः: causing the destruction of all sins
• सर्वपापक्षयंकराः: Visheshana (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षय (प्रातिपदिक) + कर (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वेषां पापानां क्षयं करोति इति (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष); कर = √कृ (धातु) से ण्वुल्/कर्तृवाचक (agentive)

Speaker

Narrator addressing Yudhiṣṭhira

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Reṇukā/Devamārga-tīrtha (Revā region)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king addressed as ‘rājendra’ in the surrounding verses

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A twilight riverbank path called Devamārga: subtle, luminous ancestral figures (Pitṛ-devatās) appear above the path, while pilgrims stand with folded hands near the Narmadā, lamps and incense glowing.

Characters & Entities

• Reṇukā
• Pitṛdevatās
• Devamārga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Faith is strengthened through sacred memory and living tradition: tīrthas preserve divine-ancestral presence for the purification of devotees.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Devamārga, where Pitṛdevatās are said to remain perceptible, linked to Reṇukā’s sacred narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific ritual is detailed; the verse highlights darśana (being seen/appearing) as a sign of the tīrtha’s ongoing potency.