Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

तत्र गत्वा शुचिर्भूत्वा ह्येकरात्रोपवासकृत् । रजस्तमस्तथा त्यक्त्वा सात्त्विकं भावमाश्रयेत्

Transliteration

tatra gatvā śucirbhūtvā hyekarātropavāsakṛt | rajastamastathā tyaktvā sāttvikaṃ bhāvamāśrayet

Translation

അവിടെ ചെന്നു ശുദ്ധനായി ഒരു രാത്രിയുടെ ഉപവാസം അനുഷ്ഠിക്കണം; രജസ്സും തമസ്സും ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് സാത്ത്വികഭാവം ആശ്രയിക്കണം।

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (स्थानवाचक क्रियाविशेषण) — indeclinable adverb of place

• गत्वा: having gone
• गत्वा: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), गम्-धातोः — having gone

• शुचिः: pure
• शुचिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुचि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — adjective used predicatively

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), भू-धातोः — having become

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle) — emphatic/causal particle

• एकरात्रोपवासकृत्: one who performs a one-night fast
• एकरात्रोपवासकृत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक-रात्र-उपवास-कृत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—एकरात्रे उपवासं करोति इति (उपवासकृत्)

• रजः: rajas (passion)
• रजः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — object (one of the guṇas)

• तमः: tamas (darkness)
• तमः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — object (one of the guṇas)

• तथा: thus/likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — adverb

• त्यक्त्वा: having abandoned
• त्यक्त्वा: Kriya (Gerundial action/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), त्यज्-धातोः — having abandoned

• सात्त्विकम्: sattvic, pure
• सात्त्विकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सात्त्विक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — qualifying ‘भावम्’

• भावम्: state/disposition
• भावम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• आश्रयेत्: should adopt/resort to
• आश्रयेत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-श्रि (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — should resort to

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (contextual, within Revā-khaṇḍa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pāṇḍava (addressed in the sequence)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim arrives at a river-tīrtha, bathes, dons clean cloth, sits in quiet meditation with a simple lamp nearby, symbolically casting away dark and red veils (tamas/rajas) and taking up a white cloth (sattva).

Characters & Entities

• Badarikāśrama (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage bears fruit when paired with inner purification—discipline, fasting, and a sāttvika mind.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction refers to the previously mentioned Badaryāśrama/Badarikāśrama.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Become pure, then observe an ekarātra (one-night) upavāsa and cultivate sāttvika bhāva by abandoning rajas and tamas.