Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 135

Devanagari script

तस्य पर्वतराजस्य यः करोति प्रदक्षिणम् । प्रदक्षिणीकृता तेन पृथिवी नात्र संशयः

Transliteration

tasya parvatarājasya yaḥ karoti pradakṣiṇam | pradakṣiṇīkṛtā tena pṛthivī nātra saṃśayaḥ

Translation

तस्य पर्वतराजस्य यः करोति प्रदक्षिणम्। तेन प्रदक्षिणीकृता पृथिवी नात्र संशयः॥

Word by Word

• तस्य: of that
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण

• पर्वतराजस्य: of the king of mountains
• पर्वतराजस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parvata + rāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘पर्वतानां राजा’

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/कर्ता), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• करोति: does, performs
• करोति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• प्रदक्षिणम्: circumambulation
• प्रदक्षिणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pradakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/कर्म), एकवचन; कर्मपद (object)

• प्रदक्षिणीकृता: has been circumambulated
• प्रदक्षिणीकृता: Samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pradakṣiṇī + kṛta (कृदन्त; √kṛ (धातु))
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (past participle) ‘कृत’ with उपपद/नामधातु-भाव: ‘प्रदक्षिणी-कृता’ = made into a pradakṣiṇā; predicate adjective of ‘पृथिवी’

• तेन: by him/thereby
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental/करण), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• पृथिवी: the earth
• पृथिवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛthivī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/कर्ता), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (negation particle)

• अत्र: here, in this matter
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of place): ‘here/in this matter’

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; ‘(there is) doubt’ understood with ellipsis of ‘अस्ति’

Speaker

Śiva (Śaṅkara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Amarkaṇṭaka-parikramā (of the mountain-kshetra)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims in a continuous clockwise procession along a forested mountain path; shrines and liṅgas appear at intervals; the earth-goddess motif subtly overlays the landscape, suggesting the whole world being circumambulated.

Characters & Entities

• Parvatarāja (king of mountains)
• Pradakṣiṇā
• Pṛthivī (earth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Circumambulating a supremely sacred mountain is treated as a symbolic circumambulation of the entire world.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The ‘king of mountains’ in this chapter’s context—Amarkaṇṭaka.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pradakṣiṇā (ritual circumambulation) of the sacred mountain.