Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

चतुर्विंशतिकृच्छ्राणां फलमाप्नोति शोभनम् । अत ऊर्ध्वं योजनेषु पादकृच्छ्रमुदाहृतः

Transliteration

caturviṃśatikṛcchrāṇāṃ phalamāpnoti śobhanam | ata ūrdhvaṃ yojaneṣu pādakṛcchramudāhṛtaḥ

Translation

അവൻ ഇരുപത്തിനാലു കൃച്ഛ്രവ്രതങ്ങളുടെ തുല്യമായ മംഗളഫലം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു. അതിനുമേൽ ഓരോ യോജനയ്ക്കും ‘പാദകൃച്ഛ്രം’ (കൃച്ഛ്രത്തിന്റെ നാലിലൊന്ന്) എന്ന ഫലം പ്രസ്താവിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• चतुर्विंशतिकृच्छ्राणाम्: of the twenty-four kṛcchra-observances
• चतुर्विंशतिकृच्छ्राणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्विंशति-कृच्छ्र (प्रातिपदिक; चतुर्विंशति + कृच्छ्र)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध/Genitive), बहुवचन

• फलम्: fruit/result
• फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म/Accusative), एकवचन

• आप्नोति: attains
• आप्नोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आप् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• शोभनम्: excellent/auspicious
• शोभनम्: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शोभन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (फलम्)

• अतः: thereafter/therefore
• अतः: Sambandha (Discourse link/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थ/तस्मात्-अर्थे (therefore/from this)

• ऊर्ध्वम्: upwards/beyond
• ऊर्ध्वम्: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ऊर्ध्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोग (adverbial accusative)

• योजनेषु: in the yojanas (stretches)
• योजनेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण/Locative), बहुवचन

• पादकृच्छ्रम्: the pāda-kṛcchra (a type of penance)
• पादकृच्छ्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद-कृच्छ्र (प्रातिपदिक; पाद + कृच्छ्र)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म/Accusative), एकवचन

• उदाहृतः: is declared/said
• उदाहृतः: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-आ-हृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (Revā Khaṇḍa narrative voice, addressing Yudhiṣṭhira)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā/Narmadā yātrā (24-yojana standard)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic depiction of a pilgrim’s path marked in segments; each segment is annotated as a kṛcchra-equivalent, suggesting a sacred ‘ledger’ of purification.

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage undertaken as disciplined atonement (prāyaścitta) yields measurable purifying merit and leads to inner purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Revā (Narmadā) pilgrimage-route is being praised, with merit counted by distance traveled.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A graded expiation: merit is reckoned as a quarter-Kṛcchra per yojana traveled, culminating in fruit equated to multiple Kṛcchras.