Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

मार्कण्डेय उवाच । शृणु पाण्डव वक्ष्यामि प्रमाणं योजनस्य यत् । तथा यात्राविशेषेण विशेषं कृच्छ्रसम्भवम्

Transliteration

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca | śṛṇu pāṇḍava vakṣyāmi pramāṇaṃ yojanasya yat | tathā yātrāviśeṣeṇa viśeṣaṃ kṛcchrasambhavam

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya dit : «Écoute, ô Pāṇḍava. Je vais t’exposer la mesure d’un yojana, et aussi les distinctions qui naissent—selon les particularités du voyage—dans les mérites liés à l’observance du kṛcchra».

Word by Word

• mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Mārkaṇḍeya
• mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārkaṇḍeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• śṛṇu: listen
• śṛṇu: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• pāṇḍava: O Pāṇḍava
• pāṇḍava: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāṇḍava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• vakṣyāmi: I will tell
• vakṣyāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• pramāṇam: the measure
• pramāṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• yojanasya: of a yojana
• yojanasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yojana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• yat: which
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक

• tathā: also / likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: रीतिवाचक-अव्यय (adverb)

• yātrāviśeṣeṇa: by the special type of pilgrimage
• yātrāviśeṣeṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yātrā (प्रातिपदिक) + viśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (यात्रायाः विशेषः)

• viśeṣam: the special detail
• viśeṣam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• kṛcchrasambhavam: arising from hardship/penance
• kṛcchrasambhavam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛcchra (प्रातिपदिक) + sambhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (कृच्छ्रात् सम्भवः), विशेषण (viśeṣam)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-yātrā (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya gestures as if enumerating measures and stages; behind him, a symbolic path with milestones and a pilgrim carrying a staff suggests graded journey-austerities.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Pāṇḍava (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Kṛcchra (vrata/penance)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma links outer discipline (journey and observance) with inner merit, and teaches that details of practice shape the fruit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it introduces rules relevant to Revā-region tīrthas in this chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Kṛcchra (a regulated penance/fasting observance) is referenced, along with pilgrimage (yātrā) as a context for merit.