Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

दशवर्षसहस्राणि चचार विपुलं तपः । तमुवाच महादेवः प्रसन्नो वृषभध्वजः

Transliteration

daśavarṣasahasrāṇi cacāra vipulaṃ tapaḥ | tamuvāca mahādevaḥ prasanno vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ

Translation

ಹತ್ತು ಸಾವಿರ ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಕಾಲ ಅವನು ಮಹತ್ತಾದ ತಪಸ್ಸನ್ನು ಆಚರಿಸಿದನು. ಬಳಿಕ ವೃಷಭಧ್ವಜ ಮಹಾದೇವನು ಪ್ರಸನ್ನನಾಗಿ ಅವನಿಗೆ ಮಾತಾಡಿದನು।

Word by Word

• daśa: ten
• daśa: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सङ्ख्यावाचक-विशेषणम् (numeral adjective), अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (indeclinable-like usage)

• varṣa: year
• varṣa: Viśeṣya (Qualified noun/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (stem) in compound; (neuter stem used in samāsa)

• sahasrāṇi: thousands
• sahasrāṇi: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time extent/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; समासान्त-पदम् (final member of compound)

• cacāra: practised / performed
• cacāra: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: car (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• vipulam: abundant, great
• vipulam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vipula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• tapaḥ: austerity, penance
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• mahādevaḥ: Mahādeva (Śiva)
• mahādevaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (महान् देवः)

• prasannaḥ: pleased
• prasannaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prasanna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ: the one whose banner is the bull
• vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣabha (प्रातिपदिक) + dhvaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वृषभस्य ध्वजः)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; speaker not explicit in the verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience (ṛṣis/śaunaka-frame typical)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lone ascetic figure (Agni’s personified form implied by later verses) performing severe tapas for millennia; Śiva appears, vṛṣabhadhvaja, serene yet majestic, granting audience.

Characters & Entities

• Agni
• Mahādeva (Śiva)
• Vṛṣabhadhvaja

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steadfast long-term discipline culminates in divine grace; Śiva responds when devotion matures into unwavering tapas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The narrative remains anchored in the Revā/Narmadā sacred region, a major tīrtha-zone of the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The prescribed discipline is prolonged tapas (austerity) undertaken with perseverance.