Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

ततोऽवतीर्णकालेन यां यां योनिं प्रयास्यति । तस्यां तस्यां स दुष्टात्मा दुर्भगो जायते सदा

Transliteration

tato'vatīrṇakālena yāṃ yāṃ yoniṃ prayāsyati | tasyāṃ tasyāṃ sa duṣṭātmā durbhago jāyate sadā

Translation

తర్వాత పునర్జన్మకాలము వచ్చినప్పుడు అతడు ఏ ఏ యోనిలో ప్రవేశిస్తాడో, ఆ ఆ జన్మలోనే ఆ దుష్టాత్ముడు నిత్యం దుర్భాగ్యుడిగా జన్మిస్తాడు।

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘thereafter/then’

• avatīrṇa-kālena: at the time of (his) descent
• avatīrṇa-kālena: Adhikarana (Locative sense via Instrumental/अधिकरण-भाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avatīrṇa (कृदन्त, अवतॄ √tṝ + अव- उपसर्ग, क्त) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (कालेन अवतीर्णेन/अवतीर्णकालेन) = ‘at the time of descent’

• yām: which (one)
• yām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; relative pronoun used distributively

• yām: which (one)
• yām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (distributive: ‘whatever…whatever’)

• yonim: womb, birth, species
• yonim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yoni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• prayāsyati: will go to, will attain
• prayāsyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√yā (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tasyām: in that (womb)
• tasyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun

• tasyām: in that (same)
• tasyām: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (distributive)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• duṣṭātmā: the wicked-souled one
• duṣṭātmā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: duṣṭa (कृदन्त/विशेषण) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास = ‘one whose self is wicked’

• durbhagaḥ: unfortunate, ill-fated
• durbhagaḥ: Karta (Subject complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durbhaga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying the subject)

• jāyate: is born
• jāyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• sadā: always
• sadā: Sambandha (Adverbial relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘always’

Speaker

Narrator of Revā Khaṇḍa (deduced; explicit speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrthas (general frame)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: महीपते (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A shadowed figure moves through successive womb-symbols (lotus, egg, animal forms), each birth marked by misfortune; in the background flows the Revā as a silent witness to karmic law.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Karmic wrongdoing is shown to follow a being across births, shaping repeated suffering and misfortune.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is named in this verse; it serves as doctrinal support within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s moral narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it explains karmic aftermath rather than prescribing a rite.