Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

तं दृष्ट्वा मुदिता देवी हर्षगङ्गदया गिरा । पप्रच्छ देवदेवेशं शशाङ्ककृतभूषणम्

Transliteration

taṃ dṛṣṭvā muditā devī harṣagaṅgadayā girā | papraccha devadeveśaṃ śaśāṅkakṛtabhūṣaṇam

Translation

À cette vue, la Déesse se réjouit ; d’une parole coulante de joie et de douceur, elle interrogea le Seigneur des dieux, dont l’ornement est la lune.

Word by Word

• तम्: him/that (one)
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive), from √दृश्; ‘having seen’

• मुदिता: joyful
• मुदिता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुदित (कृदन्त; √मुद्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular); क्त (past passive participle) from √मुद् ‘to rejoice’

• देवी: the Goddess
• देवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• हर्षगङ्गदया: with joy, (like) Gaṅgā, and compassion (i.e., with joyful compassionate feeling)
• हर्षगङ्गदया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हर्ष + गङ्गा + दया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: द्वन्द्व (हर्ष-गङ्गा-दया) ‘joy, Gaṅgā, compassion’ (collective); स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (singular)

• गिरा: by speech, with words
• गिरा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिर् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (singular)

• पप्रच्छ: asked
• पप्रच्छ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रच्छ् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular)

• देवदेवेशम्: the Lord of the gods
• देवदेवेशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव + देव + ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: तत्पुरुष (देवानां देवः ईशः → देवदेवेश); पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• शशाङ्ककृतभूषणम्: whose ornament is made of the moon (moon-adorned)
• शशाङ्ककृतभूषणम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शशाङ्क + कृत + भूषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः: तत्पुरुष (शशाङ्केन कृतं भूषणं यस्य/यत्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular); देवदेवेशम् इति पदस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Narrator (contextual, unspecified in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahādāruvana (Revā-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pārvatī, radiant and smiling, turns toward Śiva with soft, compassionate eyes; Śiva stands calm, crescent moon on his matted hair, as the riverbank āśrama glows behind them; the moment is intimate, conversational, and reverent.

Characters & Entities

• Devī (Umā/Pārvatī)
• Devadeveśa (Śiva)
• Śaśāṅka (Moon)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverent inquiry into a holy place—asked with devotion—opens the way to understanding tīrtha-mahātmya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The newly seen waterside āśrama/tīrtha in Revā Khaṇḍa, which prompts Umā’s question.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse establishes the start of a Śiva–Devī explanatory dialogue.