Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

दानव उवाच । स्थीयतां देवदेवेश यावज्ज्ञास्यामि ते वरम् । युष्मन्मूर्ध्नि न्यसे पाणिं प्रत्ययो मे भवेद्यथा

Transliteration

dānava uvāca | sthīyatāṃ devadeveśa yāvajjñāsyāmi te varam | yuṣmanmūrdhni nyase pāṇiṃ pratyayo me bhavedyathā

Translation

ദാനവൻ പറഞ്ഞു: "ഹേ ദേവദേവാ! നിൽക്കൂ, അങ്ങയുടെ വരദാനം ഞാൻ ഒന്ന് പരീക്ഷിക്കട്ടെ. എനിക്ക് വിശ്വാസം വരാനായി അങ്ങയുടെ ശിരസ്സിൽ ഞാൻ കൈ വെക്കട്ടെ."

Word by Word

• dānavaḥ: the demon
• dānavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• sthīyatām: please remain; let (it) stay
• sthīyatām: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (स्था धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive imperative: ‘let it be stayed/please remain’)

• deva-deveśa: O Lord of the gods
• deva-deveśa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + deveśa (प्रातिपदिक: deva+īśa)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘देवानां ईशः’); पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• yāvat: until
• yāvat: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time circumstance/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — कालपरिमाणार्थक (until/as long as)

• jñāsyāmi: I will know/ascertain
• jñāsyāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jñā (ज्ञा धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• te: your
• te: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive/6th) एकवचन (Singular) (also possible चतुर्थी; here genitive: ‘your’)

• varam: boon
• varam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• yuṣmat-mūrdhni: on your head
• yuṣmat-mūrdhni: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + mūrdhan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘युष्माकं मूर्धा’); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• nyase: I place
• nyase: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-√as (अस्/अस्यति धातु ‘to place/throw’)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• pāṇim: hand
• pāṇim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāṇi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• pratyayaḥ: certainty; assurance
• pratyayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pratyaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• me: my
• me: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• bhavet: may be; should arise
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• yathā: so that; as
• yathā: Kriya-visheshana (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — प्रकार/उपमानार्थक (as/so that)

Speaker

Dānava (Daitya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha milieu

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The demon halts Śiva, insisting on immediate verification: he wants to place his hand on Śiva’s head to confirm the boon—an audacious, dangerous gesture.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Dānava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Distrust and arrogance turn devotion into offense; testing the divine for ‘proof’ becomes a mark of spiritual immaturity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No; the verse is narrative dialogue within the Revā Khaṇḍa context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes an attempted act (touching the head) to verify a boon.