Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

धनदस्तत्र विश्रान्तो मुहूर्तं नृपसत्तम । पितृलोकात्समायातः कैलासं धरणीधरम्

Transliteration

dhanadastatra viśrānto muhūrtaṃ nṛpasattama | pitṛlokātsamāyātaḥ kailāsaṃ dharaṇīdharam

Translation

അവിടെ ധനദൻ (കുബേരൻ), ഹേ നൃപശ്രേഷ്ഠാ, ക്ഷണമാത്രം വിശ്രമിച്ചു. പിതൃലോകത്തിൽ നിന്ന് വന്ന് ധരണീധരമായ കൈലാസപർവതത്തിലേക്ക് പോയി।

Word by Word

• धनदः: Dhanada (Kubera)
• धनदः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेष्य (Kubera)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb)

• विश्रान्तः: having rested, rested
• विश्रान्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-श्रान्त (कृदन्त; √श्रम् धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/क्तवत्-प्रत्ययार्थ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोग; धनदस्य विशेषण

• मुहूर्तम्: for a moment
• मुहूर्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुहूर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कालपरिमाण

• नृपसत्तम: O best of kings
• नृपसत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नृपाणां सत्तमः)

• पितृलोकात्: from the world of the ancestors
• पितृलोकात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृलोक (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पितॄणां लोकः)

• समायातः: having come, arrived
• समायातः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-या (कृदन्त; √या धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्तरि; धनदस्य विशेषण

• कैलासम्: to Kailāsa
• कैलासम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कैलास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• धरणीधरम्: the mountain (earth-holder)
• धरणीधरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरणी + धर (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (धरण्याः धरः = पर्वतः)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (continuing narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpasattama / nṛpaśreṣṭha (best of kings)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Kubera, lord of wealth, pauses briefly at a riverbank tirtha after returning from Pitṛloka, then resumes a luminous journey toward snow-clad Kailāsa.

Characters & Entities

• Dhanada (Kubera)
• Pitṛloka
• Kailāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha is validated through mythic association—great celestial beings are linked with its landscape.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The context continues at/near Saṅgameśvara tīrtha, where Kubera is said to have paused.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is a narrative establishing sanctity through divine travel and presence.