Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

तत्र तीर्थे मृतानां तु नराणां भावितात्मनाम् । अनिवर्तिका गती राजन्रुद्रलोकादसंशयम्

Transliteration

tatra tīrthe mṛtānāṃ tu narāṇāṃ bhāvitātmanām | anivartikā gatī rājanrudralokādasaṃśayam

Translation

ข้าแต่พระราชา ผู้มีใจฝึกฝนและผ่องใสซึ่งสิ้นชีวิต ณ ตีรถะแห่งนั้น ย่อมมีคติอันไม่หวนกลับ; โดยปราศจากข้อสงสัย เขาย่อมบรรลุถึงรุทรโลกและไม่กลับมาอีก

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• तीर्थे: in the sacred place
• तीर्थे: अधिकरण (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (7th/Locative), एकवचनम्

• मृतानाम्: of the dead
• मृतानाम्: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √मृ धातोः क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (6th/Genitive), बहुवचनम्; विशेषणम् (of the dead)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: सम्बन्धसूचक (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; अवधान/विरोधसूचक (particle: but/indeed)

• नराणाम्: of men
• नराणाम्: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (6th/Genitive), बहुवचनम्

• भावितात्मनाम्: of those whose selves are purified/formed (devout)
• भावितात्मनाम्: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भावित-आत्मन् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; भावित + आत्मन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (6th/Genitive), बहुवचनम्; कर्मधारयः (भावितः आत्मा येषाम्)

• अनिवर्तिका: non-returning/irreversible
• अनिवर्तिका: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनिवर्तिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• गतिः: destination/going
• गतिः: कर्ता/विषय (Subject/topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (1st/Nominative), एकवचनम्

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: सम्बोधन (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः (Vocative), एकवचनम्

• रुद्रलोकात्: from Rudra’s world
• रुद्रलोकात्: अपादान (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र-लोक (प्रातिपदिक; रुद्र + लोक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी-विभक्तिः (5th/Ablative), एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (रुद्रस्य लोकात्)

• असंशयम्: certainly
• असंशयम्: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: असंशयम् (अव्यय; नपुंसक-आकारान्त-प्रयोग)
• Form: अव्ययीभावेन क्रियाविशेषणवत्; निश्चयार्थक (certainly/without doubt)

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (deduced from immediate context of Revā Khaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Paitāmaha-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (rājan explicitly addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene final moment on a riverbank: an aged ascetic/pilgrim lies facing the river and a Śiva emblem; subtle divine attendants guide the departing soul upward toward a luminous Rudraloka.

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Rudraloka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A life of inner cultivation gains its consummation at a tīrtha: death there is portrayed as leading to a non-returning Śaiva liberation-like destiny (Rudraloka).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A particular tīrtha within the Revā Khaṇḍa (Narmadā sacred geography) being discussed immediately prior to this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse emphasizes the spiritual qualification (bhāvitātman) and the salvific power of the tīrtha.