Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

पुत्रोऽथ रावणो जातस्तस्या भरतसत्तम । कुम्भकर्णो महारक्षो धर्मात्मा च विभीषणः

Transliteration

putro'tha rāvaṇo jātastasyā bharatasattama | kumbhakarṇo mahārakṣo dharmātmā ca vibhīṣaṇaḥ

Translation

ഹേ ഭരതശ്രേഷ്ഠാ! അവളിൽ നിന്ന് രാവണൻ പുത്രനായി ജനിച്ചു; കൂടാതെ മഹാരാക്ഷസൻ കുംഭകർണനും ധർമ്മാത്മാവായ വിഭീഷണനും ജനിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• पुत्रः: a son
• पुत्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन

• अथ: then
• अथ: Discourse connector (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भबोधक (then/now)

• रावणः: Rāvaṇa
• रावणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रावण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; नाम (proper noun)

• जातः: was born
• जातः: Kriya/State (भाव/अवस्था)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जात (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) from √जन्; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘born’ (predicative)

• तस्याः: of her
• तस्याः: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (genitive)

• भरतसत्तम: O best of the Bharatas
• भरतसत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरत + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th case), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (भरतानां सत्तमः)

• कुम्भकर्णः: Kumbhakarṇa
• कुम्भकर्णः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुम्भ + कर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (कुम्भवत् कर्णौ यस्य)

• महारक्षः: the great rākṣasa
• महारक्षः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + रक्षस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महान् रक्षः)

• धर्मात्मा: righteous-souled
• धर्मात्मा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (धर्मः आत्मा यस्य) विशेषण

• च: and
• च: Sambandha/Conjunction (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• विभीषणः: Vibhīṣaṇa
• विभीषणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विभीषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; नाम (proper noun)

Speaker

Narrator (deduced: Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa style narration within a Māhātmya frame)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A triad birth/lineage tableau: Kaikasī with infants symbolically representing Rāvaṇa (fierce aura), Kumbhakarṇa (massive, sleepy potency), and Vibhīṣaṇa (calm, sattvic glow).

Characters & Entities

• Rāvaṇa
• Kumbhakarṇa
• Vibhīṣaṇa
• Bharata (epithet/contextual address)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even within a single lineage, dispositions differ—Dharma can arise in any family, as exemplified by Vibhīṣaṇa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader narrative sits in the Revā (Narmadā) section; this verse itself does not praise a specific tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse.