Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 62

Devanagari script

विचारयन्तौ सततं तिष्ठाते तौ दिवानिशम् । ततो ह्यावां प्रणामान्ते यमेन यममूर्तिना

Transliteration

vicārayantau satataṃ tiṣṭhāte tau divāniśam | tato hyāvāṃ praṇāmānte yamena yamamūrtinā

Translation

ఆ ఇద్దరూ దివానిశలు నిరంతరం విచారిస్తూ అక్కడే నిలిచియున్నారు. అనంతరం మా ప్రణామాంతంలో యముడు—యమస్వరూపుడై—మాతో పలికెను.

Word by Word

• विचारयन्तौ: (the two) deliberating/considering
• विचारयन्तौ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-चर् (धातु) → विचारयत् (कृदन्त, शतृ)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present active participle); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगः; English: present active participle, masculine nominative dual

• सततम्: always, continually
• सततम्: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सतत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण); English: indeclinable adverb

• तिष्ठाते: (they two) stand/remain
• तिष्ठाते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपदम्; प्रथमपुरुष, द्विवचन; English: present indicative, 3rd person dual, middle voice

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; English: pronoun, masculine nominative dual

• दिवा: by day
• दिवा: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दिव्/दिवा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक); English: indeclinable (by day)

• निशम्: by night
• निशम्: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: निशा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययप्रयोग (कालवाचक, accusative used adverbially); English: indeclinable/adverbial use ‘by night’

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Hetu/Anantarya (हेतु/अनन्तर्य)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (तस्मात्/ततः = ‘then/from there’); English: indeclinable adverb

• हि: indeed, for
• हि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/causal particle); English: particle ‘indeed/for’

• आवाम्: we two
• आवाम्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; उत्तमपुरुष; द्विवचन; द्वितीया (2nd) / प्रायः कर्तृ-प्रयोगे ‘we two’; English: 1st person pronoun dual (accusative form used for ‘we two’)

• प्रणाम-अन्ते: at the end of (our) obeisance
• प्रणाम-अन्ते: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रणाम (प्रातिपदिक) + अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/तत्पुरुषसमासः (प्रणामस्य अन्तः); पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग ‘अन्त’; सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; English: locative singular ‘at the end of salutation’

• यमेन: by Yama
• यमेन: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; English: masculine instrumental singular

• यम-मूर्तिना: in the form of Yama
• यम-मूर्तिना: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक) + मूर्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (यमस्य मूर्तिः); स्त्रीलिङ्ग ‘मूर्ति’; तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; English: instrumental singular ‘with Yama-form’

Speaker

Narrator in first-person dual (two travelers/observers within the story; exact identities not in snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two emissaries or petitioners stand in Yama’s assembly, deliberating day and night; after prostration, Yama—majestic, judicial, and awe-inspiring—addresses them in court-like grandeur.

Characters & Entities

• Yama

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The ceaseless inquiry into deeds highlights vigilance of dharma and the seriousness of ethical living.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; the setting remains Yama’s realm and its administrative process.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Only the act of praṇāma (prostration/salutation) is referenced, without a broader ritual injunction.