Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 77

Devanagari script

यमं हैमं प्रकुर्वीत लोहदण्डसमन्वितम् । इक्षुदण्डमयं बद्ध्वा ह्युडुपं पट्टबन्धनैः

Transliteration

yamaṃ haimaṃ prakurvīta lohadaṇḍasamanvitam | ikṣudaṇḍamayaṃ baddhvā hyuḍupaṃ paṭṭabandhanaiḥ

Translation

یَم کی سونے کی مورتی بنائی جائے، جس کے ساتھ لوہے کا عصا ہو؛ اور گنے کے ڈنڈوں سے کپڑے کی پٹیوں کے ذریعے ایک چھوٹی کشتی (بیڑا) باندھ کر تیار کی جائے۔

Word by Word

• यमम्: Yama (image/figure of Yama)
• यमम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• हैमम्: golden
• हैमम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हैम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (golden)

• प्रकुर्वीत: should fashion/make
• प्रकुर्वीत: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र- कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्, आत्मनेपद, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन (3rd sg. opt.)

• लोहदण्डसमन्वितम्: provided with an iron staff
• लोहदण्डसमन्वितम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लोह-दण्ड-समन्वित (प्रातिपदिक; लोह + दण्ड + समन्वित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण; समासः ‘endowed with an iron staff’

• इक्षुदण्डमयम्: made of sugarcane stalk
• इक्षुदण्डमयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इक्षु-दण्ड-मय (प्रातिपदिक; इक्षु + दण्ड + मय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण; समासः ‘made of sugarcane-stalk’

• बद्ध्वा: having tied
• बद्ध्वा: Kriya (Action/क्रिया-पूर्व)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बन्ध् (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having tied)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/indeed)

• उडुपम्: boat/raft
• उडुपम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उडुप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पट्टबन्धनैः: with cloth straps/bindings
• पट्टबन्धनैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पट्ट-बन्धन (प्रातिपदिक; पट्ट + बन्धन)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), बहुवचन; समासः ‘cloth/strap bindings’

Speaker

Unspecified (Revākhaṇḍa dialogue context; a Purāṇic narrator instructing a king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A golden Yama image stands with an iron staff; beside it, artisans bind a small raft from sugarcane stalks using cloth straps—ritual objects prepared near a riverbank altar.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• uḍupa (boat/raft)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The rite externalizes inner preparation: acknowledging Yama (moral law) while arranging supports for the soul’s passage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching is embedded in Revākhaṇḍa’s Revā-centered sacred setting, though this verse focuses on ritual implements.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Making a golden Yama with an iron staff and constructing a sugarcane-stalk raft bound with cloth straps.