Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

यमं तु दक्षिणे पार्श्वे वामे कालं सुदारुणम् । आदित्यचन्द्रौ चक्रे तु गन्धर्वानारकादिषु

Transliteration

yamaṃ tu dakṣiṇe pārśve vāme kālaṃ sudāruṇam | ādityacandrau cakre tu gandharvānārakādiṣu

Translation

Il plaça Yama sur le flanc droit et le terriblement farouche Kāla sur le gauche; et il établit le Soleil et la Lune comme roues, assignant des troupes telles que les Gandharvas, les Nāgas et d’autres à leurs stations propres.

Word by Word

• yamam: Yama
• yamam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/विरोध-निपात (particle: but/indeed)

• dakṣiṇe: on the right
• dakṣiṇe: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; विशेषण pārśve

• pārśve: on the side
• pārśve: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārśva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• vāme: on the left
• vāme: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; विशेषण (pārśve understood)

• kālam: Kāla (Time/Death)
• kālam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन

• sudāruṇam: very terrible
• sudāruṇam: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su+dāruṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (अतिशयेन दारुणः) विशेषण kālam

• āditya-candrau: the Sun and the Moon
• āditya-candrau: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āditya+candra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), द्विवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास (आदित्यश्च चन्द्रश्च)

• cakre: in/on the wheel
• cakre: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), एकवचन; अधिकरण (locative)

• tu: and/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• gandharva-nāraka-ādiṣu: among Gandharvas, Narakas, and others
• gandharva-nāraka-ādiṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gandharva+nāraka+ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (गन्धर्वाः, नारकाः, आदयः येषु) = 'among gandharvas, hell-beings, etc.'

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣi audience/pilgrims (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A divine chariot guarded by Yama on the right and fierce Kāla on the left; the wheels are the radiant Sun and cool Moon; surrounding ranks include Gandharvas, Nāgas, and other beings in assigned stations.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Kāla
• Sūrya (Āditya)
• Candra
• Gandharvas
• Nāgas (implied by compound)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even death (Yama) and time (Kāla), and the very cycles of day and night (Sun and Moon), function within the sovereignty of the Divine.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā (Narmadā) region is the overarching sacred landscape; this verse itself is more cosmological than topographical.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse presents symbolic placement of deities rather than a ritual rule.