Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

अप्सरोगणसंकीर्णे दिव्यशब्दानुनादिते । उषित्वायाति मर्त्ये वै वेदवेदाङ्गविद्भवेत्

Transliteration

apsarogaṇasaṃkīrṇe divyaśabdānunādite | uṣitvāyāti martye vai vedavedāṅgavidbhavet

Translation

അപ്സരാഗണങ്ങളാൽ നിറഞ്ഞും ദിവ്യനാദങ്ങളാൽ മുഴങ്ങിയും ഉള്ള അവിടെ വസിച്ച്, അവൻ വീണ്ടും മർത്ത്യലോകത്തിലേക്ക് മടങ്ങി വേദവും വേദാംഗങ്ങളും അറിയുന്നവനാകുന്നു.

Word by Word

• अप्सरोगणसंकीर्णे: in (a place) crowded with hosts of apsarases
• अप्सरोगणसंकीर्णे: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अप्सरस्-गण-संकीर्ण (प्रातिपदिक; अप्सरस् + गण + संकीर्ण)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (अप्सरसां गणैः संकीर्णे)

• दिव्यशब्दानुनादिते: in (a place) resounding with divine sounds
• दिव्यशब्दानुनादिते: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य-शब्द-अनुनादित (प्रातिपदिक; दिव्य + शब्द + अनुनादित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (दिव्यैः शब्दैः अनुनादिते)

• उषित्वा: having stayed
• उषित्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वस् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund/absolutive); ‘having dwelt/stayed’

• आयाति: comes/returns
• आयाति: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√या (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• मर्त्ये: in the mortal world
• मर्त्ये: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मर्त्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• वै: indeed
• वै: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक निपात (emphatic particle)

• वेदवेदाङ्गवित्: knower of the Vedas and Vedāṅgas
• वेदवेदाङ्गवित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद-वेदाङ्ग-विद् (प्रातिपदिक; वेद + वेदाङ्ग + विद्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (वेदाश्च वेदाङ्गानि च) + ‘विद्’ (knower)

• भवेत्: would become
• भवेत्: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Śaṅkara (Śiva) (deduced from the same tīrtha-phala exposition)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (Narmadā ford)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A celestial hall filled with apsarases; divine music reverberates. After the stay, the soul descends to earth, reborn as a learned person mastering Veda and Vedāṅgas.

Characters & Entities

• apsaras
• Veda
• Vedāṅga
• svarga-like realm

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Merit gained through sacred geography can mature into dharmic wisdom—returning to human life with heightened Vedic understanding.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Revā Khaṇḍa tīrtha in Avantīkhaṇḍa, Adhyāya 34, described through its extraordinary phala.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse continues the phala narrative (heavenly residence and resultant learning).