Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

अपि कीटपतङ्गाश्च वृक्षगुल्मलतादयः । आ देहपतनाद्देवि तेऽपि यास्यन्ति सद्गतिम्

Transliteration

api kīṭapataṅgāśca vṛkṣagulmalatādayaḥ | ā dehapatanāddevi te'pi yāsyanti sadgatim

Translation

虫や羽虫、また鳥たちでさえ、樹木・灌木・蔓草なども—女神よ—身が倒れる時に至るまで、彼らもまた善き行き先を得る。

Word by Word

• अपि: even
• अपि: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अप्यर्थे (even/also)

• कीटपतङ्गाः: worms and insects
• कीटपतङ्गाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कीट + पतङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (kīṭāḥ ca pataṅgāḥ ca)

• च: and
• च: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• वृक्षगुल्मलतादयः: trees, shrubs, creepers, and the like
• वृक्षगुल्मलतादयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृक्ष + गुल्म + लता + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; समाहार/समुच्चयार्थक समास (enumerative: trees, shrubs, creepers, etc.)

• आ: up to / until
• आ: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधिपर्यन्तबोधक (up to/until)

• देहपतनात्: from the fall of the body (i.e., until death)
• देहपतनात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह + पतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन; अपादानार्थे (from/until the falling of the body)

• देवि: O Goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• अपि: also
• अपि: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अप्यर्थे (also/even)

• यास्यन्ति: will go/attain
• यास्यन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √या (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future/भविष्यत्), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• सद्गतिम्: good state/destiny
• सद्गतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत् + गति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म (object of yāsyanti)

Speaker

Śiva (addressing Narmadā as Devī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīra (Narmadā bank) — sarva-jīva-sadgati

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī/Umā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tranquil riverbank teeming with life—birds in flight, insects near lotus blooms, trees and creepers arching over the water—bathed in a subtle divine radiance indicating ‘sadgati’ for all beings dwelling there until death.

Characters & Entities

• Devī (Narmadā)
• Insects
• Birds (implied)
• Trees
• Shrubs
• Creepers

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha’s grace is universal—sanctity radiates beyond humans, uplifting even small creatures and plant life associated with the holy region.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Narmadā sacred zone (especially her banks) where even non-human beings are said to gain sadgati.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse emphasizes the merit of proximity/residence within the tīrtha’s sanctified ecology.