Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

केनोपायेन तत्तीर्थं तेन ज्ञातं धरातले । तदहं श्रोतुमिच्छामि परं कौतूहलं हि मे

Transliteration

kenopāyena tattīrthaṃ tena jñātaṃ dharātale | tadahaṃ śrotumicchāmi paraṃ kautūhalaṃ hi me

Translation

ఏ ఉపాయంతో ఆ తీర్థం భూమిపై తెలిసింది, దాన్ని ఎవరు కనుగొన్నారు? అది నేను వినదలుచుకున్నాను; నా కుతూహలం అత్యంతం.

Word by Word

• kena: by what?
• kena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• upāyena: by what means
• upāyena: Karaṇa (Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• tat: that
• tat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• tīrtham: sacred ford/place
• tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• tena: by him/thereby
• tena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• jñātam: was known/ascertained
• jñātam: Kriyā (Result state/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jñā (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense)

• dharā-tale: on the earth’s surface
• dharā-tale: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharā (प्रातिपदिक) + tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• tat: that (matter)
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तम-पुरुष सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• śrotum: to hear
• śrotum: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त; तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), श्रवणार्थे (purpose: to hear)

• icchāmi: wish/desire
• icchāmi: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: iṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तम-पुरुष (1st person), एकवचन (Singular)

• param: great, intense
• param: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (used adverbially/intensively)

• kautūhalam: curiosity
• kautūhalam: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate nominal/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kautūhala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Nipāta (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/हेतु-बोधक निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• me: my
• me: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तम-पुरुष सर्वनाम, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Yudhiṣṭhira (deduced from immediate context; the question continues into the next verse where he is explicitly named)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śuklatīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mārkaṇḍeya (immediately answers next verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yudhiṣṭhira, intent and composed, asks to hear the means by which Śuklatīrtha was known and by whom; the sage prepares to narrate.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places are not merely locations; their discovery is treated as a sacred revelation worthy of attentive listening (śravaṇa).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A particular tīrtha within the Revā Khaṇḍa (Narmadā/Revā sacred landscape) is being introduced, though not yet named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse emphasizes śravaṇa (hearing) as the gateway to understanding tīrtha-māhātmya.