Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

चतुर्धाधिष्ठितं पश्येच्छ्रियं त्रैलोक्यमातरम् । नृत्यगीतविनोदेन मुच्यते पातकर्ध्रुवम्

Transliteration

caturdhādhiṣṭhitaṃ paśyecchriyaṃ trailokyamātaram | nṛtyagītavinodena mucyate pātakardhruvam

Translation

ചതുര്വിധമായി പ്രതിഷ്ഠിതയായ ത്രിലോകമാതാവ് ശ്രീയെ ദർശിക്കുന്നവൻ, നൃത്തഗീതഭക്തിവിനോദത്തിലൂടെ നിശ്ചയമായി പാപത്തിൽ നിന്ന് മോചിതനാകുന്നു।

Word by Word

• चतुर्धा: in four ways
• चतुर्धा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चतुर्धा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb): ‘चार प्रकारेण’

• अधिष्ठितम्: presided over/established
• अधिष्ठितम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अधि-स्था (धातु) → अधिष्ठित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• पश्येत्: should see
• पश्येत्: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• श्रियम्: Śrī (Lakṣmī), prosperity
• श्रियम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• त्रैलोक्य-मातरम्: mother of the three worlds
• त्रैलोक्य-मातरम्: Karman (Object in apposition/कर्म-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रैलोक्य (प्रातिपदिक) + मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: त्रैलोक्यस्य माता); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• नृत्य-गीत-विनोदेन: by amusement of dance and song
• नृत्य-गीत-विनोदेन: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृत्य (प्रातिपदिक) + गीत (प्रातिपदिक) + विनोद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समाहार-द्वन्द्वसमास (नृत्यं च गीतं च विनोदश्च); पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; करणम्

• मुच्यते: is freed
• मुच्यते: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• पातकात्: from sin
• पातकात्: Apādāna (Ablative/source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पातक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी विभक्ति, एकवचन; अपादानम्

• ध्रुवम्: surely
• ध्रुवम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Emphatic modifier/निश्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ध्रुव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle): निश्चयार्थे ‘निश्चितम्’

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice) addressing Yudhiṣṭhira

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha milieu (unspecified sub-tīrtha)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A riverside Vaiṣṇava shrine during festival worship: Śrī (Lakṣmī) honored as Mother of the three worlds, devotees singing and dancing in a semicircle before Hari; lamps and banners, with the river glinting behind.

Characters & Entities

• Śrī (Lakṣmī)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Joyful devotional expression (song and dance offered as worship) becomes a means of purification and grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā Khaṇḍa’s Narmadā-region sanctity frames the teaching, though the verse itself centers on devotional practice rather than a named shrine.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Participate in devotional dance and singing as a form of worship, leading to removal of sins.