Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

उमया सहितो देवो गतस्तत्र महेश्वरः । अस्थिचर्मावशेषस्तु दृष्टो देवेन शम्भुना

Transliteration

umayā sahito devo gatastatra maheśvaraḥ | asthicarmāvaśeṣastu dṛṣṭo devena śambhunā

Translation

Alors le Seigneur Maheśvara, accompagné d’Umā, se rendit en ce lieu ; et Śambhu y vit un être réduit à de simples restes d’os et de peau.

Word by Word

• उमया: with Umā
• उमया: Sahakāraka (Association/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उमा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Instrumental, Singular)

• सहितः: accompanied
• सहितः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past Passive Participle used adjectivally), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• देवः: the god
• देवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• गतः: gone
• गतः: Kriyā (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम् (धातु) → गत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (Past Passive Participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• महेश्वरः: Maheśvara
• महेश्वरः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• अस्थि-चर्म-अवशेषः: a remnant of bone and skin
• अस्थि-चर्म-अवशेषः: Karma (Object in passive/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्थि (प्रातिपदिक) + चर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + अवशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (अस्थिचर्मणोः अवशेषः/अस्थि-चर्म-रूपः अवशेषः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• तु: indeed, however
• तु: Nipāta (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, विरोध/अन्वयार्थक-निपात (particle: 'but/indeed')

• दृष्टः: was seen
• दृष्टः: Kriyā (Passive predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दृश् (धातु) → दृष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (Past Passive Participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• देवेन: by the god
• देवेन: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Singular)

• शम्भुना: by Śambhu
• शम्भुना: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शम्भु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Singular)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; not explicit in the verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Tapas-sthāna (Revā-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva and Umā arrive and behold the tapasvin reduced to bone and skin—an arresting tableau of austerity’s extremity and impending divine intervention.

Characters & Entities

• Umā
• Maheśvara
• Śambhu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Austerity is depicted as total self-offering—so intense that the body becomes secondary—highlighting renunciation and single-pointed resolve.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse points to the unnamed place of tapas within the Revā Khaṇḍa narrative; the broader section associates sanctity with the Narmadā/Revā region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is descriptive, emphasizing the physical consequence of extreme austerity.