Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

प्रदहन्वै नरश्रेष्ठ बभ्रमुश्च इतस्ततः । यथैव ते महाराज दहन्ति सकलं जगत्

Transliteration

pradahanvai naraśreṣṭha babhramuśca itastataḥ | yathaiva te mahārāja dahanti sakalaṃ jagat

Translation

اے بہترین انسان، وہ بھڑکتے ہوئے اِدھر اُدھر گھومتے ہیں۔ اے مہاراج، اسی طرح وہ پورے جگت کو جلا ڈالتے ہیں۔

Word by Word

• pradahan: burning
• pradahan: Karta (Agent participle/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-dah (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त — शतृ-प्रत्यय (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (contextual); “burning”

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — निपात (emphatic particle) “indeed”

• naraśreṣṭha: O best of men
• naraśreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन — vocative singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (नराणां श्रेष्ठः)

• babhramuḥ: they wandered
• babhramuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhram (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परिपूर्णभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — समुच्चयबोधक conjunction “and”

• itaḥ: from here
• itaḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Directional/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) — “from here/this side”

• tataḥ: from there
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Directional/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (ablatival adverb) — “from there/that side”

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (Comparative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — उपमान/प्रकारवाचक adverb “as/just as”

• eva: indeed, exactly
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — अवधारण particle “indeed/just”

• te: you (plural)
• te: Karta (Implied subject of दहन्ति/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग (addressed), सम्बोधनार्थे/प्रथमा-बहुवचनरूपम्; here used as 2nd person plural pronoun “you (pl.)”

• mahārāja: O great king
• mahārāja: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + rāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन — vocative singular; कर्मधारय (महान् राजा)

• dahanti: they burn
• dahanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• sakalam: entire, whole
• sakalam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sakala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — accusative singular; विशेषण

• jagat: the world
• jagat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — accusative singular

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic speaker, contextually within Revā Khaṇḍa discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dvādaśāditya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja / Bhārata (kingly interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The twelve solar powers as moving flames traversing the sky, their heat visibly scorching the worlds—an image of roaming, consuming radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Dvādaśāditya
• Pralaya
• King (listener)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Impermanence is certain; devotion should be anchored in the divine rather than in transient worldly forms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is cosmological; within Revā Khaṇḍa it supports the sanctity of places where such divine powers are worshipped and beheld.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it prepares the listener for the ensuing praise of darśana and circumambulation.