Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

तत्र दक्षिणमार्गस्था ये केचिन्मुनिसत्तमाः । सिद्धा मृताः पदं यान्ति पितृलोकं ध्रुवं हि ते

Transliteration

tatra dakṣiṇamārgasthā ye kecinmunisattamāḥ | siddhā mṛtāḥ padaṃ yānti pitṛlokaṃ dhruvaṃ hi te

Translation

അവിടെ ദക്ഷിണമാർഗസ്ഥരായ മുനിശ്രേഷ്ഠർ സിദ്ധരായി, ദേഹത്യാഗസമയത്ത് നിശ്ചയമായി പിതൃലോകപദം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय

• dakṣiṇamārgasthāḥ: situated on the southern path/side
• dakṣiṇamārgasthāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dakṣiṇa-mārga-stha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (dakṣiṇe mārge sthāḥ) विशेषण (munisattamāḥ)

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक सर्वनाम

• kecit: some
• kecit: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kecit (सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; अनिश्चितवाचक सर्वनाम

• munisattamāḥ: best of sages
• munisattamāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: munisattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (munīnām sattamāḥ)

• siddhāḥ: accomplished, perfected
• siddhāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: siddha (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-प्रयोग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (te)

• mṛtāḥ: dead, having died
• mṛtāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mṛta (कृदन्त; √mṛ/मृ धातु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त/PPP) — dead

• padam: state, abode
• padam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• yānti: go, attain
• yānti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (या धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• pitṛlokam: world of the ancestors
• pitṛlokam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛloka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (pitṝṇāṃ lokaḥ)

• dhruvam: certainly
• dhruvam: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhruva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (certainly)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक/हेतुवाचक अव्यय (particle: indeed/for)

• te: they
• te: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (contextual attribution within Revā Khaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Narmadā-bank tīrtha (southern course association)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On the southern side of the river, austere sages in meditation; a subtle psychopompic motif shows their souls ascending toward a serene Pitṛloka realm with ancestral figures.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛloka
• muni

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography and disciplined living shape one’s posthumous destination; even perfected sages have specific karmic ‘paths’ culminating in distinct lokas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Narmadā/Revā region is implied, focusing on the southern-side ‘path’ associated with her sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed; the verse emphasizes residence/abidance on a sacred route and its spiritual consequence.