Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

तावत्पुण्यजनः सर्वपुष्पपत्रफलार्थिकः । निर्गतो बहुभिः सार्द्धं पवमानः समन्ततः

Transliteration

tāvatpuṇyajanaḥ sarvapuṣpapatraphalārthikaḥ | nirgato bahubhiḥ sārddhaṃ pavamānaḥ samantataḥ

Translation

Alors les gens pieux, en quête de toutes sortes de fleurs, de feuilles et de fruits, sortirent en grand nombre, ensemble, errant de tous côtés.

Word by Word

• tāvat-puṇya-janaḥ: then the pious person
• tāvat-puṇya-janaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + puṇya (प्रातिपदिक) + jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—‘तावत् (तदा) पुण्यजनः’ (तावत् इति काल-निर्देशः)

• sarva-puṣpa-patra-phala-ārthikaḥ: desiring all flowers, leaves, and fruits
• sarva-puṣpa-patra-phala-ārthikaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + puṣpa (प्रातिपदिक) + patra (प्रातिपदिक) + phala (प्रातिपदिक) + ārthika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘सर्वेषां पुष्पपत्रफलानाम् अर्थी’ (इच्छुकः)

• nirgataḥ: went out, departed
• nirgataḥ: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nir-√gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकाले कृदन्तः; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (कर्तरि प्रयोगः)

• bahubhiḥ: with many (people)
• bahubhiḥ: Sahakari (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (सह/करण), बहुवचन; ‘बहुभिः (जनैः)’ इति लुप्त-विशेष्यसम्बन्धः

• sārddham: together with
• sārddham: Sahakari (Accompaniment/सह)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sārddham (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (सहार्थक/with)

• pavamānaḥ: purifying (himself), becoming pure
• pavamānaḥ: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √pū (धातु)
• Form: शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले आत्मनेपदी कृदन्तः; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘पवमान’ = ‘शुद्ध्यमानः/पवित्रो भवन्’

• samantataḥ: on all sides, all around
• samantataḥ: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samantataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण; adverb)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dāruvana (periphery)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At dawn, groups of pious people stream out in many directions, gathering flowers, leaves, and fruits—an animated yet gentle scene of communal preparation amid forest abundance.

Characters & Entities

• Puṇyajana (pious people)
• Daruvana (implied context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It portrays ordinary dharmic life—gathering offerings and necessities—setting the stage for how devotion can be tested by illusion and desire.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate setting is Daruvana; the larger textual frame remains Revā Khaṇḍa, oriented to the sanctity of the Revā region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is commanded, though the gathering of flowers/leaves/fruits often implies materials for pūjā and hospitality in dharmic culture.