Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

देवस्य पूर्वभागे तु उमा पूज्या प्रयत्नतः । मार्कण्डेशं ततो भक्त्या पूजयेद्गुहवासिनम्

Transliteration

devasya pūrvabhāge tu umā pūjyā prayatnataḥ | mārkaṇḍeśaṃ tato bhaktyā pūjayedguhavāsinam

Translation

Sur le côté oriental de la divinité, qu’Umā soit honorée avec un soin diligent. Puis, avec dévotion, qu’on vénère Mārkaṇḍeśa, celui qui demeure dans la grotte.

Word by Word

• devasya: of the deity/temple (god)
• devasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular

• pūrva-bhāge: in the eastern part
• pūrva-bhāge: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; तत्पुरुष-समास (कर्मधारय/निर्देश): ‘pūrvaḥ bhāgaḥ’

• tu: indeed/and
• tu: Sambandha-bodhaka (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; particle

• umā: Umā (Pārvatī)
• umā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: umā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• pūjyā: should be worshipped
• pūjyā: Vidheyaviśeṣaṇa (Predicative adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūj (धा॒तु)
• Form: Kṛdanta (gerundive/तव्यत्), Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; ‘to be worshipped’

• prayatnataḥ: with effort, carefully
• prayatnataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prayatnataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb (manner)

• mārkaṇḍeśam: Mārkaṇḍeśa (Śiva)
• mārkaṇḍeśam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārkaṇḍeśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb (sequence/source)

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular

• pūjayet: should worship
• pūjayet: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pūj (धा॒तु)
• Form: Liṅ-lakāra (Optative/विधिलिङ्), Parasmaipada; Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), Singular

• guha-vāsinam: the cave-dweller
• guha-vāsinam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guha (प्रातिपदिक) + vāsin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; तत्पुरुष-समास: ‘guhāyāṃ vāsī’ (dweller in a cave)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kambalakṣetra (Umā shrine and Mārkaṇḍeśa cave)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A temple complex: main deity in sanctum, to the east a shrine of Umā receiving careful worship; then a path leads to a cave where Mārkaṇḍeśa is worshiped, lit by oil lamps, evoking tapas and mystery.

Characters & Entities

• Umā (Pārvatī)
• Mārkaṇḍeśa
• Guha (cave shrine)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred-site worship is orderly and integrated: Śiva is honored along with Umā, and local manifestations like Mārkaṇḍeśa are revered with devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A cave-associated shrine of Mārkaṇḍeśa within the Revā Khaṇḍa pilgrimage circuit (contextually tied to Kambalakṣetra).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Worship Umā on the eastern side of the main deity, then worship Mārkaṇḍeśa (the cave-dwelling form) with devotion.