Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

अन्यथा हि कुरुश्रेष्ठ देवयोनिरसौ विभुः । कुशाग्रेणापि विबुधैर्न स्प्रष्टव्यो महार्णवः

Transliteration

anyathā hi kuruśreṣṭha devayonirasau vibhuḥ | kuśāgreṇāpi vibudhairna spraṣṭavyo mahārṇavaḥ

Translation

Autrement, ô le meilleur des Kurus, ce Puissant—né de la lignée des dieux—ne doit être touché en aucune façon, pas même par les sages avec la pointe d’une herbe kuśa ; car il est un océan immense et insondable.

Word by Word

• अन्यथा: otherwise
• अन्यथा: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: otherwise)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle: indeed/for)

• कुरुश्रेष्ठ: O best of the Kurus
• कुरुश्रेष्ठ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरु (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (कुरूणां श्रेष्ठः)

• देवयोनिः: source/origin of the gods
• देवयोनिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (देवानां योनिः)

• असौ: that (one)
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; निर्देशवाचक (demonstrative pronoun)

• विभुः: the mighty one
• विभुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• कुशाग्रेण: with a kuśa-tip
• कुशाग्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुश (प्रातिपदिक) + अग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; सप्तमी/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थे (कुशस्य अग्रेण = with the tip of kuśa-grass)

• अपि: even
• अपि: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अवधारण-अव्यय (particle: even/also)

• विबुधैः: by the wise/learned
• विबुधैः: Kartr-karana (Agent group/कर्ता-सहायक)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विबुध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• स्प्रष्टव्यः: should be touched
• स्प्रष्टव्यः: Kriya (Obligation/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्पृश् (धातु) + तव्यत् (कृदन्त)
• Form: भाव्य/कर्तव्य-कृदन्त (Gerundive/तव्यत्), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगार्थ (to be touched)

• महार्णवः: the great ocean
• महार्णवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (महान् अर्णवः)

Speaker

Unspecified (contextual narrator within Revākhaṇḍa; likely a Purāṇic teacher addressing a royal interlocutor)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahārṇava (divinized great waters) as referenced in Revākhaṇḍa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kuruśreṣṭha (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast, dark-blue ocean-like expanse; sages on the shore hold kuśa grass but refrain from touching the waters, while a radiant boundary of sanctity surrounds the water-lord, indicating ‘do not cross without rite’.

Characters & Entities

• Kuru

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Approach the sacred with reverence and restraint; some divine realities are vast and not to be handled casually.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader context is Revākhaṇḍa, associated with the sanctity of the Revā/Narmadā sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A prohibition: not touching the ‘mahārṇava’ (great ocean-like sacred reality) even with the tip of kuśa grass—implying strict ritual caution.