Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

कोपीह नेदृश चक्रे तपः परमदारुणम् । अस्थिचर्मावशेषोऽसौ यावत्तिष्ठति भारत

Transliteration

kopīha nedṛśa cakre tapaḥ paramadāruṇam | asthicarmāvaśeṣo'sau yāvattiṣṭhati bhārata

Translation

Nul, nulle part, n’accomplit une austérité si souverainement terrible. Il ne resta de lui que l’os et la peau, tant qu’il demeura inébranlable, ô Bhārata.

Word by Word

• को: who
• को: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; interrogative pronoun

• अपि: even/indeed
• अपि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle: even/also)

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: here/in this world)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• ईदृशम्: such (a thing)
• ईदृशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ईदृश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; demonstrative adjective

• चक्रे: did/performed
• चक्रे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• परमदारुणम्: extremely dreadful
• परमदारुणम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम (प्रातिपदिक) + दारुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; 'परमं दारुणम्'

• अस्थिचर्मावशेषः: (one who is) only bones and skin
• अस्थिचर्मावशेषः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement/कर्तृसमानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अस्थि (प्रातिपदिक) + चर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + अवशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; 'अस्थि-चर्मणोः अवशेषः' (genitive-tatpurusha; residual of bones and skin)

• असौ: that man/he
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun

• यावत्: as long as/until
• यावत्: Sambandha (Temporal marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधिक/कालवाचक (until/as long as)

• तिष्ठति: stands/remains
• तिष्ठति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• भारत: O Bhārata
• भारत: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; vocative address

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhārata/King

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stark image of an ascetic standing or seated immobile, body emaciated to bone and skin, eyes inward, surrounded by stillness; the environment feels reverent and severe.

Characters & Entities

• Bhārata (addressee)
• Andhaka (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Austerity can reach extremes that strip the body to its limits; the Purāṇic warning is to anchor such power in dharma and devotion rather than ego.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse continues the Revā-bank tapas narrative that culminates in the Śūlabheda-tīrtha account.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new prescription; it emphasizes the severity and duration of tapas already described.