Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

इति ते कथितं पार्थ प्रायश्चित्तार्थलक्षणम् । रेवायात्राविधानं च गुह्यमेतद्युधिष्ठिर

Transliteration

iti te kathitaṃ pārtha prāyaścittārthalakṣaṇam | revāyātrāvidhānaṃ ca guhyametadyudhiṣṭhira

Translation

یوں، اے پارتھ، میں نے تمہیں کفّارے (پرایَشچت) کی علامتیں اور اس کا مقصد بتا دیا؛ اور رِیوا یاترا کا وِدھان بھی—اے یُدھشٹھِر، یہ ایک رازدارانہ مقدّس تعلیم ہے۔

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उक्तिपर्यवसानसूचक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• te: to you
• te: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी (6th/Genitive or 4th/Dative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम; अत्र प्रायः चतुर्थी (तुभ्यम्)

• kathitam: has been told
• kathitam: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kath (धातु) → kathita (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त); ‘कथितम्’ इति कर्मणि-भावे (it has been told)

• pārtha: O Pārtha
• pārtha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• prāyaścittārthalakṣaṇam: the definition/characteristic of the purpose of expiation
• prāyaścittārthalakṣaṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāyaścitta (प्रातिपदिक) + artha (प्रातिपदिक) + lakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (प्रायश्चित्तस्य अर्थ-लक्षणम्)

• revāyātrāvidhānam: the procedure for the Revā pilgrimage
• revāyātrāvidhānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: revā (प्रातिपदिक) + yātrā (प्रातिपदिक) + vidhāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (रेवायाः यात्रायाः विधानम्)

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

• guhyam: secret
• guhyam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: guhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण

• etat: this
• etat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• yudhiṣṭhira: O Yudhiṣṭhira
• yudhiṣṭhira: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yudhiṣṭhira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (Revā Khaṇḍa narrative voice, addressing Yudhiṣṭhira)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-yātrā (Narmadā pilgrimage)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira (addressed as Pārtha/Yudhiṣṭhira)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage concludes instruction to a royal listener: palm-leaf manuscript, quiet hermitage near a river; the teaching is marked as ‘guhya’ by the intimate, restrained setting.

Characters & Entities

• Pārtha (Arjuna epithet used as address)
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Revā (Narmadā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage and expiation are sacred disciplines; when transmitted as ‘guhya’, they demand reverence and proper practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā yātrā tradition centered on the Narmadā is affirmed as a sacred, authoritative path of purification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The shloka concludes the instruction on prāyaścitta and formally indicates the ‘Revā-yātrā-vidhāna’ (rules of the pilgrimage).