Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 74

Devanagari script

रात्रौ जागरणं कृत्वा दीपं देवस्य बोधयेत् । कथां वै वैष्णवीं पार्थ वेदाभ्यसनमेव च

Transliteration

rātrau jāgaraṇaṃ kṛtvā dīpaṃ devasya bodhayet | kathāṃ vai vaiṣṇavīṃ pārtha vedābhyasanameva ca

Translation

Après avoir veillé toute la nuit, qu’on éveille (honore) la Divinité par une lampe ; et, ô fils de Pṛthā, qu’on s’adonne aussi aux récitations sacrées vaiṣṇava et à l’étude des Veda.

Word by Word

• रात्रौ: at night
• रात्रौ: Adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• जागरणम्: wakefulness, vigil
• जागरणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जागरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• कृत्वा: having done
• कृत्वा: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund): 'having done'

• दीपम्: a lamp
• दीपम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• देवस्य: of the deity
• देवस्य: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• बोधयेत्: should awaken / should offer (by lighting)
• बोधयेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √बुध् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; causative sense possible in usage ('cause to awaken/offer')

• कथाम्: a story/discourse
• कथाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• वैष्णवीम्: Vaiṣṇava (related to Viṣṇu)
• वैष्णवीम्: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वैष्णवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (कथाम्)

• पार्थ: O Pārtha
• पार्थ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• वेदाभ्यसनम्: recitation/study of the Veda
• वेदाभ्यसनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद (प्रातिपदिक) + अभ्यास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वेदस्य अभ्यासः)

• एव: only/indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

Speaker

Narrator (Ravitīrtha Māhātmya context; speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ravitīrtha (contextual)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha (Arjuna) (as addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A night scene at a riverbank shrine: rows of oil lamps flicker; devotees remain awake singing/reciting; a learned reciter narrates Vaiṣṇava kathā while others softly chant Vedic passages; the deity is ‘awakened’ by light and praise.

Characters & Entities

• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• Viṣṇu (implied by vaiṣṇavī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion becomes complete when worship is joined with disciplined wakefulness, sacred listening, and scriptural study.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ravitīrtha, within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Night-long vigil (jāgaraṇa), lamp offering before the deity, Vaiṣṇava kathā, and Veda recitation/study.