Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

मार्कण्डेय उवाच । ततः क्रोशान्तरे पार्थ वासवं तीर्थमुत्तमम् । वसुभिः स्थापितं तत्र स्थित्वा वै द्वादशाब्दकम्

Transliteration

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca | tataḥ krośāntare pārtha vāsavaṃ tīrthamuttamam | vasubhiḥ sthāpitaṃ tatra sthitvā vai dvādaśābdakam

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya dit : «Ensuite, ô Pārtha, à la distance d’un krośa se trouve le tīrtha suprême nommé Vāsava. Il y fut établi par les Vasus, qui demeurèrent en ce lieu durant douze années».

Word by Word

• mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Mārkaṇḍeya
• mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārkaṇḍeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative), एकवचनम्

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकारः (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Desha/Kala-adhikaraṇa (Adverbial/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् (adverb)

• krośa-antare: within (the distance of) a krośa
• krośa-antare: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: krośa (प्रातिपदिक) + antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative), एकवचनम्; तत्पुरुषः (within a krośa-distance)

• pārtha: O Pārtha
• pārtha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः (Vocative), एकवचनम्

• vāsavaṃ: of Vāsava (Indra)
• vāsavaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāsava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम्; ‘तीर्थम्’ इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

• tīrtham: sacred ford/pilgrimage place
• tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम्

• uttamam: excellent, best
• uttamam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम्; ‘तीर्थम्’ इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

• vasubhiḥ: by the Vasus
• vasubhiḥ: Karana/Karta (Agent-instrument/कर्ता-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vasu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः (Instrumental), बहुवचनम्

• sthāpitaṃ: established
• sthāpitaṃ: Karma (Object described/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthāpita (कृदन्त; √sthā/स्था धातु, णिच् causative + क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Nom./Acc.), एकवचनम्; कर्मणि-भूतकृदन्तः (past passive participle)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् (adverb of place)

• sthitvā: having stayed
• sthitvā: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √sthā (स्था धातु) (कृदन्त; क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययम् (gerund/absolutive)

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

• dvādaśa-abdakam: for twelve years
• dvādaśa-abdakam: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Duration/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvādaśa (प्रातिपदिक) + abdaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative), एकवचनम्; द्विगु-समासः (twelve-year period)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vāsava Tīrtha

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha (Arjuna)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sage Mārkaṇḍeya narrates to Pārtha; in the background, a radiant river-ford marked ‘Vāsava’, with eight Vasus performing tapas for twelve years under a sacred grove.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• Vāsava-tīrtha
• Vasus

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places become especially potent when sanctified by great beings through sustained tapas and establishment of tīrthas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vāsava-tīrtha, a renowned tīrtha described in the Revākhaṇḍa of the Avantīkhaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse highlights the Vasus’ twelve-year stay (tapas/niyama context), setting up the tīrtha’s sanctity, though no specific rite is prescribed yet.