Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

यज्ञभूमौ कुलपते दीयतां भुज्यतामिति । विविधांश्च विनोदान्वै कुर्वाणेषु विनोदिषु

Transliteration

yajñabhūmau kulapate dīyatāṃ bhujyatāmiti | vividhāṃśca vinodānvai kurvāṇeṣu vinodiṣu

Translation

祭場にて、血統の主よ、声が上がった。「施しを与えよ、食を享受せよ！」祝いの者たちが歓喜する中、さまざまな祝宴の遊興が整えられた。

Word by Word

• yajñabhūmau: at the sacrificial ground
• yajñabhūmau: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajña (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘यज्ञस्य भूमिः’); सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine)

• kulapate: O lord of the clan
• kulapate: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kulapati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine)

• dīyatām: let (it) be given
• dīyatām: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धाातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive): ‘let it be given’

• bhujyatām: let (it) be eaten/enjoyed
• bhujyatām: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhuj (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular); कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive): ‘let it be eaten/enjoyed’

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्ति-बोधक (quotative particle)

• vividhān: various
• vividhān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vividha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन (Plural), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine); विशेषण

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• vinodān: amusements/diversions
• vinodān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vinoda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन (Plural), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• kurvāṇeṣu: while (they were) doing
• kurvāṇeṣu: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kurvāṇa (कृदन्त; √kṛ धातु)
• Form: सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), बहुवचन (Plural), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine); वर्तमान-कृदन्त (Present participle, parasmaipada sense)

• vinodiṣu: among the revelers/amusers
• vinodiṣu: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vinodin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), बहुवचन (Plural), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; leading into Janamejaya’s inquiry)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Janamejaya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On the yajña-ground, heralds call for giving and feasting; lines of guests receive food; donors distribute gifts; performers arrange entertainments—music, dance, storytelling—amid an auspicious crowd.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A yajña is upheld by dharmic generosity—dāna and hospitality are integral to sacred rites.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse sets the ritual scene; the broader context belongs to the Revā Khaṇḍa (Narmadā/Revā sacred landscape), but no single tīrtha is named here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Distribution of gifts (dāna) and communal feasting/annadāna associated with the yajña.