Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

अवान्तराणि तीर्थानि तेषु गुप्तान्यनेकशः । यत्र यावत्प्रमाणानि तान्याकर्णयतानघाः

Transliteration

avāntarāṇi tīrthāni teṣu guptānyanekaśaḥ | yatra yāvatpramāṇāni tānyākarṇayatānaghāḥ

Translation

ಅವುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅನೇಕ ಅವಾಂತರ (ಉಪ) ತೀರ್ಥಗಳಿವೆ; ಅವುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹಲವಾರು ಗುಪ್ತವಾಗಿವೆ. ಹೇ ನಿರ್ದೋಷಿಗಳೇ, ಅವು ಎಲ್ಲಿವೆ ಮತ್ತು ಅವುಗಳ ಪ್ರಮಾಣ ಎಷ್ಟರವರೆಗೆ ಎಂಬುದನ್ನು ಈಗ ಕೇಳಿರಿ.

Word by Word

• अवान्तराणि: subsidiary/secondary
• अवान्तराणि: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: avāntara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; adjective

• तीर्थानि: tīrthas; sacred places
• तीर्थानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• तेषु: in them
• तेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), बहुवचन; locative plural

• गुप्तानि: hidden
• गुप्तानि: Kriya (Predicate complement/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gupta (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक from √gup)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; predicate adjective ‘hidden’

• अनेकशः: many times; in many ways
• अनेकशः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anekaśas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रकारवाचक/adverb ‘in many ways/many times’)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Sambandha (Relative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक/relative adverb ‘where’)

• यावत्: as much as
• यावत्: Sambandha (Measure/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय/सर्वनाम)
• Form: अव्यय (परिमाणवाचक/relative ‘as much as’)

• प्रमाणानि: measures; extents
• प्रमाणानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• तानि: those
• तानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), बहुवचन; accusative plural

• आकर्णयत: listen (to)
• आकर्णयत: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + √karṇ (धातु; denom from karṇa)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), परस्मैपद, मध्यमपुरुष, बहुवचन; ‘hear/listen’

• अनघाः: O sinless ones
• अनघाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anagha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; vocative-like nominative of address

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gupta/Avāntara tīrthas within Revā tīrtha-samūha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: ‘Anaghāḥ’—sinless sages/audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A guide-sage gestures toward a riverbank map where small, half-hidden icons (caves, springs, kunds) surround larger tīrtha markers; disciples lean in to hear the ‘secret’ locations and their boundary-circles.

Characters & Entities

• Revā (Narmadā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Not all holiness is obvious; some tīrthas are ‘gupta’ and are known through śāstra and saintly transmission, inviting humility and attentive listening.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single site is named; the verse introduces the concept of many hidden/subsidiary tīrthas within the Revā tīrtha network.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite; the instruction is to hear details of location and sacred extent (pramāṇa).