Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

केनचित्त्वथ कालेन रावणो लोकरावणः । पुत्रं पुत्रवतां श्रेष्ठो जनयामास भारत

Transliteration

kenacittvatha kālena rāvaṇo lokarāvaṇaḥ | putraṃ putravatāṃ śreṣṭho janayāmāsa bhārata

Translation

କିଛି ସମୟ ପରେ, ହେ ଭାରତ! ଲୋକପ୍ରସିଦ୍ଧ ରାବଣ ଏକ ପୁତ୍ରକୁ ଜନ୍ମ ଦେଲା ଏବଂ ପୁତ୍ରବାନମାନଙ୍କ ମଧ୍ୟରେ ଶ୍ରେଷ୍ଠ ହେଲା।

Word by Word

• kenacit: by some (interval)
• kenacit: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन; अनिश्चितार्थक सर्वनाम: ‘by some’

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle); विरोध/अनुवाद: ‘but/indeed’

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (sequencing particle): ‘then/now’

• kālena: with time, after a time
• kālena: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन

• rāvaṇaḥ: Rāvaṇa
• rāvaṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

• loka-rāvaṇaḥ: terror of the worlds
• loka-rāvaṇaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + rāvaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘लोकानां रावणः’ = one who makes the worlds cry/terror of the worlds

• putram: a son
• putram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• putravatām: of those who have sons
• putravatām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putravat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; ‘having sons’ (genitive plural)

• śreṣṭhaḥ: the best
• śreṣṭhaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (superlative sense)

• janayāmāsa: begot, produced
• janayāmāsa: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परिप्रास/Periphrastic Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; causative sense: ‘caused to be born/begot’

• bhārata: O Bhārata
• bhārata: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhārata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचन; संबोधन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhārata

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Time passes; a royal birth scene is implied—Rāvaṇa in regal setting receiving news of a son; attendants, auspicious symbols (kalasha, lamps), and celebratory music suggested.

Characters & Entities

• Rāvaṇa
• Bhārata (address)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas often frame lineage and birth as karmic unfolding within time, preparing the listener for later moral and theological consequences.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None in this verse; it continues the narrative leading toward the Revā/Narmadā-centered austerity episode.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual prescription is stated; it is a genealogical narrative statement.