Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

तत्र दक्षिणमार्गस्था ये केचिन्मुनिसत्तमाः । सिद्धा मृताः पदं यान्ति पितृलोकं ध्रुवं हि ते

Transliteration

tatra dakṣiṇamārgasthā ye kecinmunisattamāḥ | siddhā mṛtāḥ padaṃ yānti pitṛlokaṃ dhruvaṃ hi te

Translation

Là, les sages les plus éminents qui demeurent sur la voie du sud, accomplis et siddhas, lorsqu’ils quittent le corps atteignent sûrement leur état destiné : Pitṛloka, le monde des Ancêtres.

Word by Word

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

• dakṣiṇamārgasthāḥ: situated on the southern path/side
• dakṣiṇamārgasthāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dakṣiṇa-mārga-stha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (dakṣiṇe mārge sthāḥ) विशेषण (munisattamāḥ)

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक सर्वनाम

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kecit (सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक सर्वनाम

• munisattamāḥ: best of sages
• munisattamāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: munisattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (munīnām sattamāḥ)

• siddhāḥ: accomplished, perfected
• siddhāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: siddha (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-प्रयोग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (te)

• mṛtāḥ: dead, having died
• mṛtāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛta (कृदन्त; √mṛ/मृ धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त/PPP) — dead

• padam: state, abode
• padam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• yānti: go, attain
• yānti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (या धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• pitṛlokam: world of the ancestors
• pitṛlokam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛloka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (pitṝṇāṃ lokaḥ)

• dhruvam: certainly
• dhruvam: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhruva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (certainly)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक/हेतुवाचक अव्यय (particle: indeed/for)

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (contextual attribution within Revā Khaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Narmadā-bank tīrtha (southern course association)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On the southern side of the river, austere sages in meditation; a subtle psychopompic motif shows their souls ascending toward a serene Pitṛloka realm with ancestral figures.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛloka
• muni

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography and disciplined living shape one’s posthumous destination; even perfected sages have specific karmic ‘paths’ culminating in distinct lokas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Narmadā/Revā region is implied, focusing on the southern-side ‘path’ associated with her sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed; the verse emphasizes residence/abidance on a sacred route and its spiritual consequence.