Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

चरितं तस्य देवस्य पुराणे यच्छ्रुतं मया । न तत्कथयितुं शक्यं संक्षेपेण नृपोत्तम

Transliteration

caritaṃ tasya devasya purāṇe yacchrutaṃ mayā | na tatkathayituṃ śakyaṃ saṃkṣepeṇa nṛpottama

Translation

ഹേ നൃപോത്തമാ, പുരാണങ്ങളിൽ ഞാൻ ശ്രവിച്ച ആ ദേവന്റെ ചരിതം സംക്ഷേപമായി പറയാൻ കഴിയില്ല।

Word by Word

• चरितम्: deed(s)/story
• चरितम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: carita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तस्य: of him/of that
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• देवस्य: of the god
• देवस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• पुराणे: in the Purāṇa
• पुराणे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: purāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• यत्: which (that)
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative)

• श्रुतम्: heard
• श्रुतम्: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: कृत (क्त) भूतकर्मणि; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (यत्) विशेषण

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana (Agent in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/स्त्री, तृतीया, एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Avyaya (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध (negation particle)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• कथयितुम्: to narrate
• कथयितुम्: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथय् (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (Infinitive), प्रयोजन/समर्थ्ये (for telling)

• शक्यम्: possible
• शक्यम्: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शक्य (प्रातिपदिक; √शक् से निष्पन्न)
• Form: कृत (यत्) शक्य-प्रत्यय; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (predicative)

• संक्षेपेण: briefly/in summary
• संक्षेपेण: Karana (Manner/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃkṣepa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (instrumental of manner)

• नृपोत्तम: O best of kings
• नृपोत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (uttamaḥ nṛpaḥ)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ravitīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: a king (nṛpottama)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya, facing the king, gestures expansively as if indicating countless stories; behind them, a faint montage of Sūrya’s cosmic journey across the sky over the river.

Characters & Entities

• Deva (Bhāskara/Sūrya, context)
• Purāṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine greatness is presented as inexhaustible; tīrtha-māhātmya rests on a wider Purāṇic memory and authority.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The statement occurs within the Ravitīrtha-māhātmya, continuing praise connected to that site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a narrative framing remark about the impossibility of summarizing the deity’s deeds.