Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । पुत्रि मा साहसं कार्षीः शुद्धदेहासि साम्प्रतम् । तुष्टोऽहं तपसा तेऽद्य वरं वरय वाञ्छितम्

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | putri mā sāhasaṃ kārṣīḥ śuddhadehāsi sāmpratam | tuṣṭo'haṃ tapasā te'dya varaṃ varaya vāñchitam

Translation

ఈశ్వరుడు పలికెను—కుమార్తె, ఇలాంటి సాహసం చేయకు; ఇప్పుడు నీ దేహం శుద్ధమైంది. నీ తపస్సుతో నేడు నేను ప్రసన్నుడను—నీకు కావలసిన వరం కోరుకో।

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: the Lord
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• putri: O daughter
• putri: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: putrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• mā: do not
• mā: Pratiṣedha (Prohibition/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mā (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक कण (prohibitive particle)

• sāhasam: rash act, violence
• sāhasam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāhasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• kārṣīḥ: you did / you should do
• kārṣīḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist, prohibitive with mā), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• śuddha-dehā: having a purified body
• śuddha-dehā: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śuddha (प्रातिपदिक) + deha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• asi: are
• asi: Kriya (Copula/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• sāmpratam: now, at present
• sāmpratam: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sāmprata (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययीभावार्थ)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

• tuṣṭaḥ: pleased
• tuṣṭaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tuṣṭa (कृदन्त; √tuṣ)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

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

• tapasā: by austerity
• tapasā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• te: your
• te: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुषवाचक सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• adya: today, now
• adya: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

• varam: a boon
• varam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• varaya: choose
• varaya: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vṛ (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• vāñchitam: desired
• vāñchitam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier of varam/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vāñchita (कृदन्त; √vāñch)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Śiva (Īśvara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tirtha context (unspecified sub-tirtha in this verse)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Alikā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva appears before the ascetic maiden Alikā, raising a hand in gentle prohibition, acknowledging her tapas and offering a boon; the setting suggests a riverbank hermitage near Revā.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

God responds to sincere tapas with compassion, granting boons while guiding devotees away from harmful extremes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā Khaṇḍa milieu frames the episode; the focus here is the direct encounter with Śiva rather than a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas (austerity) is affirmed as efficacious, but the Lord cautions against excessive self-harm.