Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

न दृष्टः शूलके विप्रो भराक्रान्त्या युधिष्ठिर । स्खलिता तस्य जानुभ्यां शूलस्थस्य पतिव्रता

Transliteration

na dṛṣṭaḥ śūlake vipro bharākrāntyā yudhiṣṭhira | skhalitā tasya jānubhyāṃ śūlasthasya pativratā

Translation

اے یُدھشٹھِر، بھاری بوجھ کے دباؤ کے سبب سُولی پر جڑا ہوا برہمن نظر نہ آیا؛ پتی ورتا بیوی سُولی پر قائم اپنے شوہر کے گھٹنوں سے ٹکرا کر لڑکھڑا گئی۔

Word by Word

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय

• दृष्टः: was seen
• दृष्टः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु) → दृष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘was seen’

• शूलके: on the stake
• शूलके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूलक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘on the stake/impalement stake’

• विप्रः: the brāhmaṇa
• विप्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भराक्रान्त्या: due to the burden’s pressure
• भराक्रान्त्या: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भर (प्रातिपदिक) + आक्रान्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (षष्ठी/कर्मधारयभाव): ‘by the pressure/overwhelming of weight’; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• युधिष्ठिर: O Yudhiṣṭhira
• युधिष्ठिर: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

• स्खलिता: slipped, stumbled
• स्खलिता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्खल् (धातु) → स्खलित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle, active sense); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (सा); ‘slipped/fell’

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• जानुभ्याम्: with (her) two knees
• जानुभ्याम्: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जानु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), द्विवचन (Dual)

• शूलस्थस्य: of the one on the stake
• शूलस्थस्य: Sambandha (Qualifier of possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शूल (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष: शूले स्थितः; पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (तस्य-विशेषण)

• पतिव्रता: the devoted wife
• पतिव्रता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति (प्रातिपदिक) + व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि: ‘she whose vow is (devotion to) her husband’; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (frame-address to Yudhiṣṭhira)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night scene: a brāhmaṇa fixed upon a stake; Śāṇḍilī, carrying her husband, fails to notice him due to the crushing load and stumbles against the knees of the impaled man—moment of tragic recognition suspended.

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• vipra (brāhmaṇa)
• pativratā
• śūla (stake)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human suffering can arise from karmic forces and circumstance; dharma is tested in moments of shock, burden, and helplessness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is directly praised in this verse; it is a dramatic narrative moment within the Revā Khaṇḍa context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is stated; the verse describes an event that triggers moral and karmic reflection.