Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

तत्तेऽहं सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि कथां पापप्रणाशिनीम् । आसीत्पुरा महादैत्यस्तालमेघ इति श्रुतः

Transliteration

tatte'haṃ sampravakṣyāmi kathāṃ pāpapraṇāśinīm | āsītpurā mahādaityastālamegha iti śrutaḥ

Translation

ഇപ്പോൾ ഞാൻ നിനക്കു പാപനാശിനിയായ ആ കഥ പ്രസ്താവിക്കുന്നു. പുരാതനകാലത്ത് ‘താലമേഘ’ എന്നു പ്രസിദ്ധനായ ഒരു മഹാദൈത്യൻ ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു.

Word by Word

• तत्: that (matter)
• तत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative), एकवचन

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि: will fully tell
• सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), उत्तम-पुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; उपसर्ग: सम्+प्र

• कथाम्: story
• कथाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पापप्रणाशिनीम्: destroying sins
• पापप्रणाशिनीम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप-प्रणाशिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (पापस्य प्रणाशिनी)

• आसीत्: there was
• आसीत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पुरा: formerly, once
• पुरा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• महादैत्यः: a great demon
• महादैत्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादैत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारय (महान् दैत्यः)

• तालमेघः: Tālamegha
• तालमेघः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तालमेघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नाम (proper name)

• इति: thus, named
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इत्यादि-उद्धरणसूचक (quotative particle)

• श्रुतः: known, heard of
• श्रुतः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रुत (कृदन्त; श्रु)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (past participle)

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-related secret tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya begins the tale; a shadowy, formidable dānava ‘Tāla-megha’ is introduced in the mind’s eye—storm-cloud imagery and towering palm-tree (tāla) associations.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Tāla-megha (Daitya/Dānava)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Listening to sacred history (kathā-śravaṇa) is itself purifying and prepares the mind to grasp a tīrtha’s deeper greatness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The narrative is introduced to explain the glory of Cakratīrtha/Jalaśāyī on the Revā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; it signals the merit of hearing a pāpa-destroying account.