Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा पश्येद्देवीं सुभक्तितः । अष्टम्यां वा चतुर्दश्यां सर्वकालेऽथवा नृप

Transliteration

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā paśyeddevīṃ subhaktitaḥ | aṣṭamyāṃ vā caturdaśyāṃ sarvakāle'thavā nṛpa

Translation

ข้าแต่มหาราช ผู้ใดอาบน้ำชำระในทีรถะนั้นแล้วได้เฝ้าทอดพระเนตรพระเทวีด้วยภักติอันบริสุทธิ์—ไม่ว่าในวันอัษฏมี หรือจตุรทศี หรือเวลาใดก็ตาม—(ย่อมได้รับผลอันสรรเสริญ)

Word by Word

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

• tīrthe: at the sacred ford/place of pilgrimage
• tīrthe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• yaḥ: who (he)
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √snā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; पूर्वक्रिया — ‘having bathed’

• paśyet: should see
• paśyet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• devīm: the Goddess
• devīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• subhaktitaḥ: with great devotion
• subhaktitaḥ: Hetu/Prakaraṇa (Manner/Cause)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: su- (उपसर्ग) + bhakti (प्रातिपदिक) + -tas (तसिल् प्रत्यय)
• Form: तसिलन्त-अव्यय (adverbial ablatival formation): ‘from/with good devotion’

• aṣṭamyām: on the eighth lunar day
• aṣṭamyām: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; तिथिवाचक

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक निपात (disjunctive particle: ‘or’)

• caturdaśyām: on the fourteenth lunar day
• caturdaśyām: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturdaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; तिथिवाचक

• sarvakāle: at all times
• sarvakāle: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषप्रायः (सर्वः काले) = ‘at all times’

• athavā: or else
• athavā: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha + vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (alternative connector: ‘or else’)

• nṛpa: O king
• nṛpa: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Devī-tīrtha on Revā (contextual)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims bathing at a riverbank tīrtha, then approaching a Devī sanctum with lamps and garlands; a calendar-like motif shows Aṣṭamī and Caturdaśī moons.

Characters & Entities

• Devī (Siddheśvarī/Vaiṣṇavī)
• Aṣṭamī
• Caturdaśī
• Tīrtha (Revā/Narmadā context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion is primary, yet sacred time (tithi) can intensify the fruit of tīrtha-bath and Devī-darśana.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same Devī-tīrtha in Revā Khaṇḍa Adhyāya 166 (the verse does not specify the exact place-name).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bathing at the tīrtha and beholding the Devī with devotion, especially recommended on Aṣṭamī or Caturdaśī, though permissible at any time.