Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 117

Devanagari script

पतनं कुरुते योऽस्मिन्पर्वतेऽमरकण्टके । क्रीडते क्रमशो राजन्भुवनानि चतुर्दश

Transliteration

patanaṃ kurute yo'sminparvate'marakaṇṭake | krīḍate kramaśo rājanbhuvanāni caturdaśa

Translation

Quiconque se précipite du haut de cette montagne, Amarakaṇṭaka, se joue, ô Roi, pas à pas, à travers les quatorze mondes.

Word by Word

• पतनम्: a fall, falling down
• पतनम्: Karman (object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: patana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन

• कुरुते: does, performs
• कुरुते: Kriyā (main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• अस्मिन्: in/on this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikaraṇa (location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक; सप्तमी एकवचन; निर्देशक (demonstrative)

• पर्वते: on the mountain
• पर्वते: Adhikaraṇa (location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parvata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन

• अमरकण्टके: at Amarakaṇṭaka
• अमरकण्टके: Adhikaraṇa (location; apposition to पर्वते)
• Type: Noun
• Root: amara + kaṇṭaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/नामधेय: अमर-कण्टक (अमराणां कण्टक इव/अमरकण्टक-नाम पर्वतः)

• क्रीडते: sports, plays, enjoys
• क्रीडते: Kriyā (main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √krīḍ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान); प्रथमपुरुष; एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• क्रमशः: successively
• क्रमशः: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kramaśas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रमवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (successively, in order)

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Sambodhana (address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन एकवचन

• भुवनानि: worlds
• भुवनानि: Karman (object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhuvana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया बहुवचन

• चतुर्दश: fourteen
• चतुर्दश: Viśeṣaṇa (numeral adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: caturdaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया बहुवचन (भुवनानि इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्); द्विगु-समास: चतुर् + दश

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Amarakaṇṭaka

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājan (King)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dramatic sacred-mountain vista labeled Amarakaṇṭaka; a devotee’s leap is depicted symbolically as an ascent through layered cosmic spheres—fourteen lokas shown as concentric realms or stepped planes, with guiding divine light and protective deities.

Characters & Entities

• Amarakaṇṭaka
• Fourteen worlds (caturdaśa-bhuvana)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text extols the extraordinary salvific power attributed to certain tīrthas, framing them as gateways to higher realms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Amarakaṇṭaka mountain.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A death-related act (self-casting down) is mentioned as a phalaśruti; it is not a general dhārmic prescription and should be read as a hyperbolic tīrtha-glorification typical of māhātmya passages.