Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

तिर्यग्यवोदराण्यष्टावूर्ध्वा वा व्रीहयस्त्रयः । प्रमाणमङ्गुलस्याहुर्वितस्तिर्द्वादशांगुला

Transliteration

tiryagyavodarāṇyaṣṭāvūrdhvā vā vrīhayastrayaḥ | pramāṇamaṅgulasyāhurvitastirdvādaśāṃgulā

Translation

Huit grains d’orge posés en travers—ou trois grains de riz dressés verticalement—sont dits la mesure d’un aṅgula (largeur d’un doigt). Un vitasti (empan) vaut douze aṅgulas.

Word by Word

• tiryak: horizontally
• tiryak: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tiryak (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: दिशावाचक-अव्यय (adverb: horizontally)

• yava-udarāṇi: barley-grain thicknesses
• yava-udarāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yava (प्रातिपदिक) + udara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (यवस्य उदरम् = barley-grain’s thickness/diameter)

• aṣṭau: eight
• aṣṭau: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭan (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/सर्वलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक विशेषण (yava-udarāṇi इत्यस्य परिमाणे)

• ūrdhvāḥ: upright/vertically placed
• ūrdhvāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ūrdhva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (vrīhayaḥ)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle: or)

• vrīhayaḥ: rice grains
• vrīhayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vrīhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• trayaḥ: three
• trayaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक विशेषण (vrīhayaḥ)

• pramāṇam: the measure
• pramāṇam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• aṅgulasya: of an aṅgula (finger-breadth)
• aṅgulasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṅgula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• āhuḥ: they say
• āhuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ah (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• vitastiḥ: a vitasti (span)
• vitastiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vitasti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• dvādaśa-aṅgulā: (measuring) twelve aṅgulas
• dvādaśa-aṅgulā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvādaśan (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + aṅgula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; द्विगुसमासः (द्वादश अङ्गुलाः यस्याः सा) विशेषण (vitastiḥ)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close-up didactic tableau: grains of barley laid crosswise and rice grains upright beside a finger-breadth mark; a span (vitasti) shown across a palm, with a manuscript margin note.

Characters & Entities

• Aṅgula
• Vitasti
• Yava (barley)
• Vrīhi (rice)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage and vows rely on clear standards; dharma values precision in practice, not vagueness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the verse provides measurement basics used for tīrtha-journey calculations.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it defines metrological units (aṅgula, vitasti) that support pilgrimage and vow-related rules.