Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

ततोऽवतीर्णकालेन यां यां योनिं प्रयास्यति । तस्यां तस्यां स दुष्टात्मा दुर्भगो जायते सदा

Transliteration

tato'vatīrṇakālena yāṃ yāṃ yoniṃ prayāsyati | tasyāṃ tasyāṃ sa duṣṭātmā durbhago jāyate sadā

Translation

Kemudian, ketika tiba saat kelahiran kembali, rahim mana pun yang ia masuki, pada kelahiran itu juga si berjiwa jahat senantiasa lahir sebagai orang yang malang.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘thereafter/then’

• avatīrṇa-kālena: at the time of (his) descent
• avatīrṇa-kālena: Adhikarana (Locative sense via Instrumental/अधिकरण-भाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avatīrṇa (कृदन्त, अवतॄ √tṝ + अव- उपसर्ग, क्त) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (कालेन अवतीर्णेन/अवतीर्णकालेन) = ‘at the time of descent’

• yām: which (one)
• yām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; relative pronoun used distributively

• yām: which (one)
• yām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (distributive: ‘whatever…whatever’)

• yonim: womb, birth, species
• yonim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yoni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• prayāsyati: will go to, will attain
• prayāsyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√yā (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tasyām: in that (womb)
• tasyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun

• tasyām: in that (same)
• tasyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (distributive)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• duṣṭātmā: the wicked-souled one
• duṣṭātmā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duṣṭa (कृदन्त/विशेषण) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास = ‘one whose self is wicked’

• durbhagaḥ: unfortunate, ill-fated
• durbhagaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durbhaga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying the subject)

• jāyate: is born
• jāyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• sadā: always
• sadā: Sambandha (Adverbial relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘always’

Speaker

Narrator of Revā Khaṇḍa (deduced; explicit speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrthas (general frame)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: महीपते (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A shadowed figure moves through successive womb-symbols (lotus, egg, animal forms), each birth marked by misfortune; in the background flows the Revā as a silent witness to karmic law.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Karmic wrongdoing is shown to follow a being across births, shaping repeated suffering and misfortune.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it serves as doctrinal support within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s moral narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it explains karmic aftermath rather than prescribing a rite.