Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

युधिष्ठिर उवाच । देवतीर्थे तु किं नाम माहात्म्यं समुदाहृतम् । फलं किं स्नानदानादिकारिणां जायते मुने

Transliteration

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | devatīrthe tu kiṃ nāma māhātmyaṃ samudāhṛtam | phalaṃ kiṃ snānadānādikāriṇāṃ jāyate mune

Translation

യുധിഷ്ഠിരൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ മുനേ! ദേവതീർത്ഥത്തിന്റെ മഹാത്മ്യം എന്തെന്നു പ്രസിദ്ധീകരിക്കപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു? അവിടെ സ്നാനം, ദാനം മുതലായ കർമ്മങ്ങൾ ചെയ്യുന്നവർക്ക് എന്ത് ഫലം ലഭിക്കുന്നു?

Word by Word

• युधिष्ठिरः: Yudhiṣṭhira
• युधिष्ठिरः: Sambodhana/Address (implicit speaker tag)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• देवतीर्थे: in/at the Devatīrtha
• देवतीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवतीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; देव + तीर्थ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थ (contrast/emphasis)

• किम्: what
• किम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

• नाम: indeed/actually (in a question)
• नाम: Discourse particle
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), प्रश्न-विशेषक (interrogative intensifier)

• माहात्म्यम्: greatness, sacred glory
• माहात्म्यम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

• समुदाहृतम्: has been declared/expounded
• समुदाहृतम्: Kriya (predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-उद्-आ-हृ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive sense)

• फलम्: fruit, result
• फलम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

• किम्: what
• किम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

• स्नानदानादिकारिणाम्: of those who perform bathing, giving (charity), etc.
• स्नानदानादिकारिणाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (possessor/relational)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नान + दान + आदि + कारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (कारिन्-शब्द), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• जायते: arises, is produced
• जायते: Kriya (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद

• मुने: O sage
• मुने: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Yudhiṣṭhira

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Devātīrtha

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mārkaṇḍeya

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yudhiṣṭhira, seated respectfully before sage Mārkaṇḍeya in a forest-āśrama, asks about Devātīrtha’s greatness and the fruits of bathing and charity; palm-leaf manuscripts, kuśa grass, and a nearby river hinted in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Devātīrtha
• Muni (Mārkaṇḍeya as listener/context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is clarified through inquiry: a king seeks precise understanding of a tīrtha’s glory and the concrete fruits of ritual acts.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Devātīrtha is the explicit subject of inquiry and forthcoming praise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) and dāna (charity), along with allied observances (“ādi”).