Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

अप्सरोगणसंकीर्णे दिव्यशब्दानुनादिते । दिव्यगन्धानुलिप्ताङ्गो दिव्यालङ्कारभूषितः

Transliteration

apsarogaṇasaṃkīrṇe divyaśabdānunādite | divyagandhānuliptāṅgo divyālaṅkārabhūṣitaḥ

Translation

അപ്സരാഗണങ്ങളാൽ നിറഞ്ഞും ദിവ്യശബ്ദങ്ങളാൽ മുഴങ്ങിയും നിൽക്കുന്ന ആ സ്വർഗ്ഗത്തിൽ അവന്റെ ദേഹം ദിവ്യസുഗന്ധങ്ങളാൽ അനുലിപ്തമായി, ദിവ്യാഭരണങ്ങളാൽ അലങ്കൃതമാകുന്നു।

Word by Word

• अप्सरः-गण-संकीर्णे: in (a place) crowded with groups of apsarases
• अप्सरः-गण-संकीर्णे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अप्सरस् (प्रातिपदिक) + गण (प्रातिपदिक) + संकीर्ण (कृदन्त, √कॄ/किर्?; here adjectival 'mixed/filled')
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; विशेषण (locative descriptive)

• दिव्य-शब्द-अनुनादिते: resounding with divine sounds
• दिव्य-शब्द-अनुनादिते: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक) + शब्द (प्रातिपदिक) + अनुनादित (कृदन्त, √नद्, क्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; विशेषण

• दिव्य-गन्ध-अनुलिप्त-अङ्गः: whose limbs are anointed with divine fragrance
• दिव्य-गन्ध-अनुलिप्त-अङ्गः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक) + गन्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + अनुलिप्त (कृदन्त, √लिप्, क्त) + अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—'यस्य अङ्गानि दिव्यगन्धेन अनुलिप्तानि'

• दिव्य-अलङ्कार-भूषितः: adorned with divine ornaments
• दिव्य-अलङ्कार-भूषितः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक) + अलङ्कार (प्रातिपदिक) + भूषित (कृदन्त, √भूष्, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Narrator (Skanda Purāṇa voice) describing the svarga-state to a Pāṇḍava listener

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: tirtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant blessed soul in a celestial court: apsarās surrounding, gandharva music in the air; the figure’s limbs gleam with divine perfume and jeweled ornaments, set against luminous svarga architecture.

Characters & Entities

• Apsarās
• Svarga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa portrays puṇya not abstractly but as a vivid, embodied celestial experience, motivating dharmic practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Indirectly the Revā-khaṇḍa tīrtha, since this celestial state is presented as the fruit of the tīrtha-centered dharma.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None here; it is a descriptive continuation of the promised svarga-phala.