Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

देवराजस्तथा शक्रः संतप्तस्तपसा तयोः । युयोजाप्सरसस्तत्र तयोर्विघ्नचिकीर्षया

Transliteration

devarājastathā śakraḥ saṃtaptastapasā tayoḥ | yuyojāpsarasastatra tayorvighnacikīrṣayā

Translation

تب دیوراج شکر (اندرا) اُن دونوں کی تپسیا سے تپ کر، اُن کی ریاضت میں رکاوٹ ڈالنے کے ارادے سے وہاں اپسراؤں کو مقرر کر دیا۔

Word by Word

• देवराजः: king of the gods
• देवराजः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव + राज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘देवानां राजा’

• तथा: thus/also
• तथा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/समुच्चयार्थ (thus/also)

• शक्रः: Śakra (Indra)
• शक्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; देवराजस्य विशेषण/अप्पोजिशन

• संतप्तः: afflicted/tormented
• संतप्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + तप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (शक्रः)

• तपसा: by austerity
• तपसा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• तयोः: of those two
• तयोः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th), द्विवचन

• युयोज: appointed/sent/engaged
• युयोज: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: युज् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• अप्सरसः: apsarases (celestial nymphs)
• अप्सरसः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप्सरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (locative adverb)

• तयोः: of those two
• तयोः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th), द्विवचन

• विघ्नचिकीर्षया: with the intention of creating an obstacle
• विघ्नचिकीर्षया: Hetu (Cause/Purpose/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विघ्न + चिकीर्षा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; षष्ठी/कर्म-तत्पुरुषः ‘विघ्नं चिकीर्षा’ (desire to cause obstacle)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (narrative voice implied in the chapter context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (scene-setting)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Indra, troubled, dispatches a troupe of apsarases toward a forested mountain hermitage; the air shimmers with divine intent—beauty as a weapon against austerity.

Characters & Entities

• Indra (Śakra)
• Apsarases

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Great austerity can provoke tests and distractions; dharma requires steadiness when obstacles arise.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This segment is set in the Revā Khaṇḍa’s sacred-geography orbit; the immediate verse focuses on the Gandhamādana setting of the austerity narrative rather than a named Revā ford.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse highlights tapas (austerity) and the attempted creation of vighnas (obstacles).