Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

हव्यवाहमुखे क्षिप्तं रुद्रेणामिततेजसा । रुद्रस्य रेतसा दग्धस्तीर्थयात्राकृतादरः

Transliteration

havyavāhamukhe kṣiptaṃ rudreṇāmitatejasā | rudrasya retasā dagdhastīrthayātrākṛtādaraḥ

Translation

Jeté dans la bouche de Havyavāhana par Rudra à l’éclat sans mesure, Agni fut brûlé par la semence de Rudra ; puis il se voua avec ferveur au pèlerinage vers les tīrthas sacrés.

Word by Word

• havyavāhamukhe: in the mouth of Havyavāha (Agni)
• havyavāhamukhe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: havyavāha + mukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; समासः—हव्यवाहस्य मुखम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• kṣiptam: thrown/cast
• kṣiptam: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṣip (क्षिप् धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘(was) thrown’

• rudreṇa: by Rudra
• rudreṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

• amitatejasā: of immeasurable splendor
• amitatejasā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: amita + tejas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—अमितं तेजो यस्य (having immeasurable splendor)

• rudrasya: of Rudra
• rudrasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• retasā: by/with semen
• retasā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: retas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

• dagdhaḥ: burnt
• dagdhaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dah (दह् धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; ‘was burnt’

• tīrthayātrā: pilgrimage to sacred places
• tīrthayātrā: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha + yātrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक; समासः—तीर्थस्य यात्रा (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• kṛta: done/made
• kṛta: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक; समासे पूर्वपद

• ādaraḥ: reverence/zeal
• ādaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ādara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; समासः—तीर्थयात्रां कृतः आदरः यस्य (तत्पुरुष/बहुव्रीहिप्रायः); अर्थतः ‘whose reverence was produced by pilgrimage’

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Piṅgaleśvara (as culmination of Agni’s tīrtha-yātrā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rudra, blazing with immeasurable radiance, casts a stream of fiery tejas into Agni’s mouth; Agni reels, scorched, then turns away in resolve toward a path of pilgrimage marked by riverbanks and shrines.

Characters & Entities

• Rudra (Śiva)
• Havyavāhana (Agni)
• Tīrtha-yātrā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even divine beings seek purification and resolution through tīrtha-yātrā, underscoring pilgrimage as a universal dharmic remedy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sets up the wider tīrtha circuit that culminates at Revā-region sites like Piṅgalāvarta.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tīrtha-yātrā (pilgrimage) itself is presented as the chosen discipline following an intense spiritual event.