Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । ततो गच्छेन्महीपाल देवतीर्थमनुत्तमम् । यत्र सिद्धा महाभागा देवाः सेन्द्रा युधिष्ठिर

Transliteration

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | tato gacchenmahīpāla devatīrthamanuttamam | yatra siddhā mahābhāgā devāḥ sendrā yudhiṣṭhira

Translation

श्री मार्कण्डेय म्हणाले—त्यानंतर, हे महीपाल! त्या अनुपम देवतीर्थास जावे; जिथे महाभाग्यवान देवगण इंद्रासह सिद्धीला प्राप्त झाले, हे युधिष्ठिर।

Word by Word

• श्रीमार्कण्डेयः: the venerable Mārkaṇḍeya
• श्रीमार्कण्डेयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री (प्रातिपदिक) + मार्कण्डेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय; तद्-प्रातिपदिकात्)
• Form: अव्यय, अव्ययीभावार्थे/क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (then/thereafter)

• गच्छेत्: should go
• गच्छेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √गम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• महीपाल: O king
• महीपाल: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही (प्रातिपदिक) + पाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• देवतीर्थम्: the divine sacred ford (tīrtha)
• देवतीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• अनुत्तमम्: unsurpassed, excellent
• अनुत्तमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनुत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (देवतीर्थम् इति विशेष्यस्य)

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (relative adverb: where)

• सिद्धाः: the Siddhas (perfected beings)
• सिद्धाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• महाभागाः: greatly fortunate, illustrious
• महाभागाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महā (प्रातिपदिक) + भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (सिद्धाः/देवाः)

• देवाः: the gods
• देवाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• स-इन्द्राः: together with Indra
• स-इन्द्राः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (अव्यय/उपपद) + इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—'इन्द्रेण सह' (including Indra)

• युधिष्ठिर: O Yudhiṣṭhira
• युधिष्ठिर: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Deva-tīrtha

Type: tirtha

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on a forest-side hermitage path-map; in the background a luminous riverbank tīrtha with subtle forms of devas and Indra indicating ancient siddhi attainment.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Deva-tīrtha
• Indra
• Yudhiṣṭhira

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is framed as a dharmic journey: visiting exalted tīrthas connects devotees to the sanctity earned by the gods themselves.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Deva-tīrtha, described as anuttama (unsurpassed) and associated with the siddhi of the devas with Indra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A general injunction to proceed to (visit) Deva-tīrtha as part of the tīrtha-yātrā sequence.