Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 100

Devanagari script

साक्षिभूता जगद्धात्री निर्मिता विश्वयोनिना । त्वं तुले सर्वभूतानां प्रमाणमिह कीर्तिता

Transliteration

sākṣibhūtā jagaddhātrī nirmitā viśvayoninā | tvaṃ tule sarvabhūtānāṃ pramāṇamiha kīrtitā

Translation

اے تُلا! تو گواہِ حق، جگت کی دھاتری ہے؛ تجھے کائنات کے سرچشمۂ عالم نے بنایا ہے۔ یہاں تجھے تمام جانداروں کے لیے میزان اور معیار کے طور پر کیرتت کیا گیا ہے۔

Word by Word

• sākṣibhūtā: having become a witness; witness-like
• sākṣibhūtā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sākṣi (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūta (कृदन्त, भू धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कृदन्त-भूत (क्त) ‘भू’ धातोः; ‘साक्षि’ इति उपपदपूर्वकः तत्पुरुषः; English: Feminine nominative singular; past passive participle (kta) of √bhū with upapada ‘sākṣi’

• jagaddhātrī: the sustainer of the world
• jagaddhātrī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक) + dhātrī (प्रातिपदिक; धृ धातु-कर्तृ)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जगतः धात्री); English: Feminine nominative singular; genitive tatpurusha ‘bearer/sustainer of the world’

• nirmitā: created, fashioned
• nirmitā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-√mā (मा धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त (past passive participle) ‘निर्मित’; English: Feminine nominative singular; PPP of √mā with prefix nir-

• viśvayoninā: by the universal source
• viśvayoninā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśva (प्रातिपदिक) + yoni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (प्रायः पुं), तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-समासः ‘विश्वस्य योनिः’; English: Instrumental singular; ‘by the source/origin of the universe’

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; English: 2nd person pronoun, nominative singular

• tule: O Tulā (balance/scale)
• tule: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tulā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; English: Vocative singular, ‘O balance/scale’

• sarvabhūtānām: of all beings
• sarvabhūtānām: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūta (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘सर्वाणि भूतानि’; English: Genitive plural; ‘of all beings’

• pramāṇam: the standard/measure
• pramāṇam: Pradhana (Predicate complement/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; अत्र विधेय-नाम (predicate nominative); English: Neuter singular (nom./acc.); ‘measure/standard’

• iha: here
• iha: Desha-adhikarana (Locative sense/देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place); English: Indeclinable adverb ‘here/in this context’

• kīrtitā: is proclaimed
• kīrtitā: Kriya (Verbal predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kīrt (कीर्त् धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; क्त (PPP) ‘कीर्तित’; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे विधेय; English: Feminine nominative singular PPP ‘is proclaimed/has been declared’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced: Āvantya Khaṇḍa, Revā Khaṇḍa instructional passage)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tirtha milieu (Revākhaṇḍa context)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A consecrated balance (tulā) stands near a riverbank shrine; the balance is personified as a radiant goddess-like principle of measure, while devotees and brāhmaṇas witness the rite under a calm, cosmic sky.

Characters & Entities

• Tulā
• Viśvayoni (Source of the universe)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is grounded in cosmic order—symbolized by Tulā as the impartial ‘measure’ witnessing all actions.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā (Narmadā) milieu frames the rite; the teaching supports tīrtha-based dharma rather than naming a single spot in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A mantra of consecration that personifies and praises the Tulā (balance) as witness and universal standard.