Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 74

Devanagari script

तदेव नीरं पापानां शोणितं परिवर्तते । असिपत्रवनं चान्यद्दृष्टान्या महती शिला

Transliteration

tadeva nīraṃ pāpānāṃ śoṇitaṃ parivartate | asipatravanaṃ cānyaddṛṣṭānyā mahatī śilā

Translation

അതേ ജലം പാപികൾക്കു രക്തമായി മാറുന്നു. അവിടെ മറ്റൊരു ഭീതിയും കാണപ്പെടുന്നു—അസിപത്രവനം (വാളുപോലുള്ള ഇലകളുടെ കാട്) കൂടാതെ ഒരു മഹാശിലയും ദൃശ്യമാകുന്നു।

Word by Word

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphasis)

• नीरम्: water
• नीरम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; apposition to तत्

• पापानाम्: of sinners/of sins
• पापानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन

• शोणितम्: blood
• शोणितम्: Karma (Object/कर्म) (result/predicate)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शोणित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; predicate nominative

• परिवर्तते: turns into/changes
• परिवर्तते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + वृत् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• असिपत्रवनम्: the forest of sword-leaves
• असिपत्रवनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (new item in list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असि (प्रातिपदिक) + पत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः = 'forest of sword-leaves'

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (and)

• अन्यत्: another
• अन्यत्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; qualifies implied noun (e.g., 'something else')

• दृष्टा: was seen
• दृष्टा: Karma (Object/कर्म) (implicit, in passive sense)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु) → दृष्ट (कृदन्त/भूतकृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; agrees with शिला

• अन्या: another
• अन्या: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; qualifies शिला

• महतī: great/huge
• महतī: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; agrees with शिला

• शिला: rock/stone
• शिला: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Deductive: Skanda (Kārttikeya) narrating within Āvantya Khaṇḍa’s Reva Khaṇḍa frame

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vaitaraṇī / Asipatravana (nāraka feature)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The cool Vaitaraṇī turns red like blood for sinners; nearby stands Asipatravana—trees with sword-like leaves slicing bodies—along with a massive stone slab that crushes and terrifies.

Characters & Entities

• Asipatravana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sin distorts even what is naturally life-giving—water itself becomes blood—showing how pāpa reshapes one’s experienced reality through karmaphala.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader setting is the Revā (Narmadā) sacred geography in the Reva Khaṇḍa, though this verse specifically emphasizes karmic hell-realms rather than a single tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed in this verse; it functions as a warning that encourages dharmic conduct and avoidance of pāpa.