Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

वसध्वं मम पार्श्वे तु भयं त्यक्त्वा क्षुधादिजम्

Transliteration

vasadhvaṃ mama pārśve tu bhayaṃ tyaktvā kṣudhādijam

Translation

“ನನ್ನ ಪಾರ್ಶ್ವದಲ್ಲಿ ವಾಸಿಸಿರಿ; ಭಯವನ್ನೂ—ಕ್ಷುಧಾದಿಗಳನ್ನೂ—ತ್ಯಜಿಸಿರಿ.”

Word by Word

• vasadhvam: stay/dwell
• vasadhvam: Kriyā (Imperative)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vas (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘dwell/stay’

• mama: my
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम; ‘of me/my’

• pārśve: at (my) side
• pārśve: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārśva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘at the side’

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle)

• bhayam: fear
• bhayam: Karman (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘fear’ (object of tyaktvā)

• tyaktvā: having abandoned
• tyaktvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √tyaj (धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: कृतान्त अव्यय (gerund/क्त्वा): ‘having abandoned’

• kṣudhā: of hunger
• kṣudhā: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣudhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (समासपूर्वपद)

• ādi: etc.
• ādi: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक-प्रयोग (postpositional ‘etc.’): समासे ‘-ādi’ = ‘and the like’

• jam: arising from hunger etc.
• jam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of bhayam)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘kṣudhā-ādi-jam’ = ‘born of hunger etc.’

Speaker

Devī (Narmadā/Revā, implied by context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Devī gestures toward her side, inviting the sages to remain near her presence; the riverbank becomes a protective enclosure where hunger and fear dissolve.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Narmadā (Revā)
• Mahāmunis (sages)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Nearness to the sacred Devī (Revā/Narmadā) dispels fear and bodily anxieties, establishing calm for dharma and tapas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The banks of the Narmadā (Revā) are upheld as a protective sacred refuge for ascetics.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed; the instruction is to reside near the Devī—implying tīra-vāsa (living by the sacred river) as a meritorious practice.