Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

तिर्यग्यवोदराण्यष्टावूर्ध्वा वा व्रीहयस्त्रयः । प्रमाणमङ्गुलस्याहुर्वितस्तिर्द्वादशांगुला

Transliteration

tiryagyavodarāṇyaṣṭāvūrdhvā vā vrīhayastrayaḥ | pramāṇamaṅgulasyāhurvitastirdvādaśāṃgulā

Translation

大麦の粒を横に八つ並べる、あるいは米粒を縦に三つ立てるのが、一アングラ（aṅgula、指幅）の標準と説かれる。ヴィタスティ（vitasti、掌の幅）は十二アングラである。

Word by Word

• tiryak: horizontally
• tiryak: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tiryak (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: दिशावाचक-अव्यय (adverb: horizontally)

• yava-udarāṇi: barley-grain thicknesses
• yava-udarāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yava (प्रातिपदिक) + udara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (यवस्य उदरम् = barley-grain’s thickness/diameter)

• aṣṭau: eight
• aṣṭau: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭan (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/सर्वलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक विशेषण (yava-udarāṇi इत्यस्य परिमाणे)

• ūrdhvāḥ: upright/vertically placed
• ūrdhvāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ūrdhva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (vrīhayaḥ)

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle: or)

• vrīhayaḥ: rice grains
• vrīhayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vrīhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• trayaḥ: three
• trayaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक विशेषण (vrīhayaḥ)

• pramāṇam: the measure
• pramāṇam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• aṅgulasya: of an aṅgula (finger-breadth)
• aṅgulasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṅgula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• āhuḥ: they say
• āhuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ah (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• vitastiḥ: a vitasti (span)
• vitastiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vitasti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• dvādaśa-aṅgulā: (measuring) twelve aṅgulas
• dvādaśa-aṅgulā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvādaśan (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + aṅgula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; द्विगुसमासः (द्वादश अङ्गुलाः यस्याः सा) विशेषण (vitastiḥ)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close-up didactic tableau: grains of barley laid crosswise and rice grains upright beside a finger-breadth mark; a span (vitasti) shown across a palm, with a manuscript margin note.

Characters & Entities

• Aṅgula
• Vitasti
• Yava (barley)
• Vrīhi (rice)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage and vows rely on clear standards; dharma values precision in practice, not vagueness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the verse provides measurement basics used for tīrtha-journey calculations.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it defines metrological units (aṅgula, vitasti) that support pilgrimage and vow-related rules.