Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

उमया सहितो देवो गतस्तत्र महेश्वरः । अस्थिचर्मावशेषस्तु दृष्टो देवेन शम्भुना

Transliteration

umayā sahito devo gatastatra maheśvaraḥ | asthicarmāvaśeṣastu dṛṣṭo devena śambhunā

Translation

پھر مہیشور دیو، اُما کے ساتھ، وہاں گئے؛ اور شَمبھو نے وہاں ایک کو دیکھا جو ہڈی اور چمڑی کے محض آثار رہ گیا تھا۔

Word by Word

• उमया: with Umā
• उमया: Sahakāraka (Association/सह)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उमा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Feminine, Instrumental, Singular)

• सहितः: accompanied
• सहितः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past Passive Participle used adjectivally), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• देवः: the god
• देवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• गतः: gone
• गतः: Kriyā (Predicate participle/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम् (धातु) → गत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (Past Passive Participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of place)

• महेश्वरः: Maheśvara
• महेश्वरः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• अस्थि-चर्म-अवशेषः: a remnant of bone and skin
• अस्थि-चर्म-अवशेषः: Karma (Object in passive/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्थि (प्रातिपदिक) + चर्म (प्रातिपदिक) + अवशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (अस्थिचर्मणोः अवशेषः/अस्थि-चर्म-रूपः अवशेषः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• तु: indeed, however
• तु: Nipāta (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, विरोध/अन्वयार्थक-निपात (particle: 'but/indeed')

• दृष्टः: was seen
• दृष्टः: Kriyā (Passive predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दृश् (धातु) → दृष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (Past Passive Participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• देवेन: by the god
• देवेन: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Singular)

• शम्भुना: by Śambhu
• शम्भुना: Karta (Agent in passive/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शम्भु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Singular)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; not explicit in the verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Tapas-sthāna (Revā-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva and Umā arrive and behold the tapasvin reduced to bone and skin—an arresting tableau of austerity’s extremity and impending divine intervention.

Characters & Entities

• Umā
• Maheśvara
• Śambhu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Austerity is depicted as total self-offering—so intense that the body becomes secondary—highlighting renunciation and single-pointed resolve.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse points to the unnamed place of tapas within the Revā Khaṇḍa narrative; the broader section associates sanctity with the Narmadā/Revā region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is descriptive, emphasizing the physical consequence of extreme austerity.