Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

ततोऽवतीर्णः कालेन यां यां योनिं प्रयास्यति । तस्यां तस्यां स दुष्टात्मा दुर्भगो जायते सदा

Transliteration

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

Translation

ครั้นแล้วเมื่อกาลนำเขากลับลงมา เขาเข้าสู่ครรภ์ใด ๆ ก็ตาม ในชาตินั้น ๆ ผู้มีจิตชั่วผู้นั้นย่อมเกิดมาอาภัพอยู่เสมอ

Word by Word

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय; तद्-तसिल्)
• Form: अव्यय, अपादान/अनन्तरार्थक (adverb ‘thereupon/from that’)

• अवतीर्णः: having descended
• अवतीर्णः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अव + √तॄ (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि/कर्तरि कृदन्त (past participle ‘descended’)

• कालेन: by time
• कालेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; करण/हेतु (instrumental ‘by/through time’)

• याम्: which
• याम्: Karma (Object determiner/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; ‘योनिम्’ इति विशेषण

• याम्: whichever
• याम्: Karma (Object determiner/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (distributive)

• योनिम्: womb/birth
• योनिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म

• प्रयास्यति: will go/attain
• प्रयास्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + √या (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future/भविष्यत्), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• तस्याम्: in that
• तस्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण; पुनरुक्ति-व्याप्ति (distributive locative)

• तस्याम्: in each such
• तस्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण; पुनरुक्ति

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

• दुष्टात्मा: a wicked-souled person
• दुष्टात्मा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुष्ट (प्रातिपदिक; √दुष्/दुष्ट ‘wicked’) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘दुष्टः आत्मा यस्य/दुष्ट आत्मा’; कर्ता

• दुर्भगः: unfortunate
• दुर्भगः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर् (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + भग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; नञ्/दुरादि-तत्पुरुष (negative/pejorative)

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

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A wheel-of-births motif: the sinner emerges from darkness into successive womb-symbols (human/animal silhouettes), each marked by signs of poverty and misfortune; above, Kāla as a shadowy force turns the wheel; in the background, Revā flows as a potential refuge.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Kāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unwholesome actions are said to follow the soul across rebirths as recurring misfortune until corrected by dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is specified in this verse; it continues the moral narrative that contextualizes Somnātha’s later attainment.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated here; it describes karmic continuity across births.