Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

दशवर्षसहस्राणि चचार विपुलं तपः । तमुवाच महादेवः प्रसन्नो वृषभध्वजः

Transliteration

daśavarṣasahasrāṇi cacāra vipulaṃ tapaḥ | tamuvāca mahādevaḥ prasanno vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ

Translation

اس نے دس ہزار برس تک عظیم ریاضت کی۔ پھر وृषبھ دھوج (بیل کے نشان والے) خوش ہو کر مہادیو نے اس سے کلام فرمایا۔

Word by Word

• daśa: ten
• daśa: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सङ्ख्यावाचक-विशेषणम् (numeral adjective), अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः (indeclinable-like usage)

• varṣa: year
• varṣa: Viśeṣya (Qualified noun/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (stem) in compound; (neuter stem used in samāsa)

• sahasrāṇi: thousands
• sahasrāṇi: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time extent/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; समासान्त-पदम् (final member of compound)

• cacāra: practised / performed
• cacāra: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: car (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• vipulam: abundant, great
• vipulam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vipula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• tapaḥ: austerity, penance
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• mahādevaḥ: Mahādeva (Śiva)
• mahādevaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (महान् देवः)

• prasannaḥ: pleased
• prasannaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prasanna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ: the one whose banner is the bull
• vṛṣabhadhvajaḥ: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣabha (प्रातिपदिक) + dhvaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वृषभस्य ध्वजः)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narration; speaker not explicit in the verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage-inquirer audience (ṛṣis/śaunaka-frame typical)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lone ascetic figure (Agni’s personified form implied by later verses) performing severe tapas for millennia; Śiva appears, vṛṣabhadhvaja, serene yet majestic, granting audience.

Characters & Entities

• Agni
• Mahādeva (Śiva)
• Vṛṣabhadhvaja

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steadfast long-term discipline culminates in divine grace; Śiva responds when devotion matures into unwavering tapas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The narrative remains anchored in the Revā/Narmadā sacred region, a major tīrtha-zone of the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The prescribed discipline is prolonged tapas (austerity) undertaken with perseverance.