Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

समर्था ये न पश्यन्ति रेवां पुण्यजलां नदीम् । एतस्मात्कारणाद्राजन्हसितो लोकशासनः

Transliteration

samarthā ye na paśyanti revāṃ puṇyajalāṃ nadīm | etasmātkāraṇādrājanhasito lokaśāsanaḥ

Translation

Ô roi, parce que même ceux qui en ont la capacité ne contemplent pas la Revā, rivière aux eaux saintes, pour cette raison le Souverain des mondes (Yama) éclata de rire.

Word by Word

• samarthāḥ: capable, competent (people)
• samarthāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samartha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• ye: who (those who)
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Modifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (निषेध-अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधक अव्यय (negative particle)

• paśyanti: see
• paśyanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन

• revām: Revā (Narmadā river)
• revām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: revā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• puṇya-jalām: having holy water
• puṇya-jalām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक) + jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (puṇyasya jalam) विशेषण

• nadīm: river
• nadīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nadī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• etasmāt: from this
• etasmāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• kāraṇāt: from the reason/cause
• kāraṇāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन

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

• hasitaḥ: laughed / was laughed (at)
• hasitaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hasita (कृदन्त; √has धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle)

• loka-śāsanaḥ: ruler/governor of the world
• loka-śāsanaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + śāsana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (lokānāṃ śāsanam)

Speaker

Narrator addressing the King (with Yama referenced as loka-śāsana)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) darśana-tīrtha; Yama-hāseśvara vicinity

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājā (king addressed as rājan/rājendra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A king listens as the narrator describes Yama, ‘ruler of worlds,’ laughing at those who could have seen the holy Revā yet did not; the river glows as a ribbon of sanctity beside a forested bank.

Characters & Entities

• Revā (Narmadā)
• Yama

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When a supreme tīrtha is available, failing to seek it is portrayed as spiritually absurd—hence Yama’s laughter.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Revā/Narmadā river.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied: make pilgrimage for Revā-darśana (and by extension, Revā-snana).