Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

उत्तानपाद उवाच । आश्रमे वसतस्तस्य स दीर्घतपसो मुनेः । कनीयांस्तनयो देव कथं मृत्युमुपागतः

Transliteration

uttānapāda uvāca | āśrame vasatastasya sa dīrghatapaso muneḥ | kanīyāṃstanayo deva kathaṃ mṛtyumupāgataḥ

Translation

Uttānapāda dit : Ô Seigneur, tandis qu’il demeurait dans l’āśrama de ce muni aux longues austérités, Dīrghatapas, comment son plus jeune fils est-il allé à la mort ?

Word by Word

• उत्तानपादः: Uttānapāda
• उत्तानपादः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तानपाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—उत्तान + पाद (कर्मधारय)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• आश्रमे: in the hermitage
• आश्रमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• वसतः: of (him) dwelling
• वसतः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वस् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; पुंलिङ्ग; ‘वसत्’ = dwelling

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• दीर्घतपसः: of long austerity
• दीर्घतपसः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दीर्घतपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासः—दीर्घ + तपस् (कर्मधारय)

• मुनेः: of the sage
• मुनेः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• कनीयान्: younger
• कनीयान्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कनीयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तुलनात्मक (comparative)

• तनयः: son
• तनयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तनय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• देव: O lord
• देव: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• कथम्: how
• कथम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्न-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• मृत्युम्: death
• मृत्युम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• उपागतः: has met/attained
• उपागतः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप + गम् (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘उपागत’ = having reached/attained

Speaker

Uttānapāda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Īśvara

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king (Uttānapāda) respectfully questions the Lord about a sage Dīrghatapas and the mysterious death of the sage’s youngest son, set in a quiet hermitage near a sacred riverbank.

Characters & Entities

• Uttānapāda
• Dīrghatapas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma inquiry—asking how and why events occur—opens the way for purāṇic instruction on fate, conduct, and sacred merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly the Mandāraka/Revā Khaṇḍa hermitage setting; the verse itself frames the question.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a narrative question initiating the teaching.