Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

यन्तारं च सुरज्येष्ठं वेदान्कृत्वा हयोत्तमान् । खलीनादिषु चाङ्गानि रश्मींश्छन्दांसि चाकरोत्

Transliteration

yantāraṃ ca surajyeṣṭhaṃ vedānkṛtvā hayottamān | khalīnādiṣu cāṅgāni raśmīṃśchandāṃsi cākarot

Translation

അവൻ ദേവന്മാരിൽ ജ്യേഷ്ഠനെ സാരഥിയായി നിയമിച്ചു; വേദങ്ങളെ ഉത്തമ അശ്വങ്ങളാക്കി; ഖലീനാദി ഭാഗങ്ങളെ അങ്ങങ്ങളാൽ (പവിത്രക്രമത്താൽ) രൂപപ്പെടുത്തി, രശ്മികളെ ഛന്ദസ്സുകളാക്കി നിർമ്മിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• yantāram: the charioteer
• yantāram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yantṛ (यन्त्रि/यम् धातु-निष्पन्न प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; 'driver/charioteer'

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• surajyeṣṭham: eldest among the gods (Bṛhaspati/Indra per context)
• surajyeṣṭham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura+jyeṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (सुराणां ज्येष्ठः)

• vedān: the Vedas
• vedān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), बहुवचन

• kṛtvā: having made
• kṛtvā: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund) = having made

• hayottamān: the best horses
• hayottamān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: haya+uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (हयेषु उत्तमाः)

• khalīna-ādiṣu: in the bridles and the like
• khalīna-ādiṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khalīna+ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th case), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (खलीनानि आदीनि येषु) = 'in bridles etc.'

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• aṅgāni: limbs/parts
• aṅgāni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), बहुवचन

• raśmīn: reins/rays
• raśmīn: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: raśmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), बहुवचन

• chandāṃsi: Vedic metres
• chandāṃsi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: chandas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• akarot: he made
• akarot: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (imperfect/past), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣi audience/pilgrims (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A chariot driven by the ‘eldest of gods’ as charioteer; the horses are personified Vedas, the reins are flowing chandas-metre ribbons, and the bridle parts are formed from sacred limbs/ordered components—an allegory of controlled spiritual motion.

Characters & Entities

• Maheśvara (Śiva)
• Vedas
• Chandas (Vedic metres)
• Sura-jyeṣṭha (eldest of the gods)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is driven by sacred knowledge: Veda and chandas are portrayed as the very forces that guide and restrain the cosmic journey.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā Khaṇḍa framework sanctifies the Narmadā landscape, while this verse emphasizes the Vedic-sacral structure behind Śiva’s manifestation.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed; the verse encodes Vedic categories as spiritual ‘equipment’ for divine action.