Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

अन्यानि च सुतीर्थानि कलां नार्हन्ति षोडशीम् । पञ्च स्थानानि तीर्थानि पृथग्भूतानि यानि च

Transliteration

anyāni ca sutīrthāni kalāṃ nārhanti ṣoḍaśīm | pañca sthānāni tīrthāni pṛthagbhūtāni yāni ca

Translation

D’autres excellents tīrthas n’en atteignent pas même le seizième (du mérite). Et les cinq lieux de tīrtha, distincts les uns des autres—

Word by Word

• अन्यानि: other
• अन्यानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन = Neuter, Nominative plural

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक) = conjunction

• सु-तीर्थानि: excellent tīrthas
• सु-तीर्थानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन = Neuter, Nominative plural; कर्मधारय-समास ('सुन्दराणि/श्रेष्ठानि तीर्थानि')

• कलाम्: a part/portion (kalā)
• कलाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन = Feminine, Accusative singular

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध) = negation particle

• अर्हन्ति: are worthy of / deserve
• अर्हन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अर्ह् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन = Present, 3rd person plural

• षोडशीम्: sixteenth
• षोडशीम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षोडशी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन = Feminine, Accusative singular; 'sixteenth' (agreeing with कलाम्)

• पञ्च: five
• पञ्च: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या/अव्ययवत्)
• Form: संख्याशब्द (अव्ययवत्), प्रथमा, बहुवचनार्थे = numeral 'five' qualifying स्थानानि

• स्थानानि: places
• स्थानानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन = Neuter, Nominative plural

• तीर्थानि: tīrthas
• तीर्थानि: Samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन = Neuter, Nominative plural (apposition to स्थानानि)

• पृथक्-भूतानि: distinct/separate
• पृथक्-भूतानि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पृथक् (अव्यय) + भूत (कृदन्त; √भू)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन = Neuter, Nominative plural; कर्मधारय ('पृथक्' + 'भूत') = 'separate/individual'

• यानि: which
• यानि: Sambandha (Relative link)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन = Neuter, Nominative plural; relative pronoun

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक) = conjunction

Speaker

Narrator (tīrtha-māhātmya voice within Revā Khaṇḍa; exact speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pañca-sthāna tīrthas of Revā-kṣetra (collective)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A schematic sacred map: five luminous nodes along a river/forest landscape, each marked by a distinct emblem (cakra, śūla, yūpa, river-goddess, lake), while other distant tīrthas appear faint, indicating ‘not even a sixteenth’ of the radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Śūlabheda (contextual)
• Tīrthas (five places, contextual)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text intensifies devotion by ranking tīrthas, asserting a concentrated spiritual potency at this site.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Śūlabheda tīrtha complex on the Revā, described as surpassing other tīrthas by far.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; it introduces a framework of five distinct tīrtha locations (details likely continue in subsequent verses).