Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 117

Devanagari script

शकटं संभृतं कृत्वा तत्र युक्तः स धूर्वहः । यः कृत्वा मित्रहननं गोयोनिं समुपागतः

Transliteration

śakaṭaṃ saṃbhṛtaṃ kṛtvā tatra yuktaḥ sa dhūrvahaḥ | yaḥ kṛtvā mitrahananaṃ goyoniṃ samupāgataḥ

Translation

అతడు బండిని సమృద్ధిగా సరుకులతో సిద్ధం చేసి, దానికి జోడించి బయలుదేరాడు. (అందులో) ఒక భారవాహక జంతువు ఉండెను; అది మిత్రహత్య చేసి గో-యోనిలో జన్మ పొందింది.

Word by Word

• śakaṭam: cart
• śakaṭam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakaṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• saṃbhṛtam: well-loaded / collected
• saṃbhṛtam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam + bhṛ (धातु) → saṃbhṛta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• kṛtvā: having made
• kṛtvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• yuktaḥ: harnessed / yoked
• yuktaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yuj (धातु) → yukta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; (śakaṭe yojitaḥ implied)

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

• dhūrvahaḥ: the yoke-bearer / draught-animal
• dhūrvahaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhūr + vaha (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

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

• kṛtvā: having done
• kṛtvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव

• mitrahananam: killing of a friend
• mitrahananam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mitra + hanana (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• goyonim: a cow-womb / birth as a cow
• goyonim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go + yoni (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• samupāgataḥ: has attained / reached
• samupāgataḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam + upa + gam (धातु) → upāgata (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past active/PPP in sense of 'arrived'), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (continuing the Revā-khaṇḍa story)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhāreśvara (approached)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Assembly (frame assumed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A well-loaded cart begins the pilgrimage; a draught animal yoked to it bears a tragic karmic backstory—once a friend-killer, now born in a cow’s womb and serving as a beast of burden.

Characters & Entities

• draught-animal (dhūrvaha)
• go-yoni (cow birth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Grave actions bear karmic consequences across births; tīrtha narratives often introduce such beings to illustrate redemption through dharma and sacred places.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The journey is toward Bhāreśvara muktitīrtha on the Revā/Narmadā (context from preceding verses).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite here; it frames the pilgrimage logistics and introduces a karmic backstory that will connect to tīrtha-based purification.