Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

युधिष्ठिर उवाच । हव्यवाहेन भगवन्नीश्वरः स्थापितः कथम् । एतदाख्याहि मे सर्वं प्रसादाद्वक्तुमर्हसि

Transliteration

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | havyavāhena bhagavannīśvaraḥ sthāpitaḥ katham | etadākhyāhi me sarvaṃ prasādādvaktumarhasi

Translation

युधिष्ठिर बोले—हे भगवन्, हव्यवाहन (अग्नि) ने ईश्वर की स्थापना कैसे की? कृपा करके यह सब मुझे बताइए; प्रसन्न होकर आप कहने योग्य हैं।

Word by Word

• yudhiṣṭhiraḥ: Yudhiṣṭhira
• yudhiṣṭhiraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yudhiṣṭhira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• havyavāhena: by Agni
• havyavāhena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: havyavāha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; अग्निवाचक

• bhagavan: O venerable one
• bhagavan: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (भगवत्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

• īśvaraḥ: the Lord (Śiva)
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• sthāpitaḥ: was established
• sthāpitaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (स्था धातु) + ṇic → sthāpaya + kta (क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मणि

• katham: how
• katham: Sambandha (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• ākhyāhi: tell/narrate
• ākhyāhi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√khyā (आख्याधातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन

• me: to me
• me: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mad (अस्मद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (dative pronoun)

• sarvam: everything
• sarvam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• prasādāt: out of grace
• prasādāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prasāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (ablative of cause: ‘out of grace’)

• vaktum: to tell
• vaktum: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच् धातु) + tumun (तुमुन्)
• Form: कृदन्त (infinitive/तुमुनन्त), ‘to speak/tell’

• arhasi: you are able/ought
• arhasi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √arh (अर्ह् धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Yudhiṣṭhira

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Piṅgaleśvara (at Piṅgalāvarta)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mārkaṇḍeya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yudhiṣṭhira, hands folded, asks Mārkaṇḍeya about Agni installing the liṅga; the sage sits calmly with a rosary; behind them a riverbank shrine and a subtle flame motif indicating Havyavāhana.

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Havyavāhana (Agni)
• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Mārkaṇḍeya (implied listener)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverent inquiry (praśna) is upheld as the doorway to tīrtha-knowledge and deeper faith in sacred narratives.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Piṅgaleśvara at Piṅgalāvarta is the subject, introduced through the question about its स्थापना (installation).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it frames the kathā (origin account) that legitimizes worship at the site.