Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

तथेति ते प्रतिज्ञाय नारदाद्या अदर्शनम् । गतेषु विप्रमुख्येषु शाण्डिली च तपोधना

Transliteration

tatheti te pratijñāya nāradādyā adarśanam | gateṣu vipramukhyeṣu śāṇḍilī ca tapodhanā

Translation

Họ thưa “Tathāstu” và lập lời hứa; rồi Nārada cùng những vị khác liền khuất dạng. Khi các bậc brāhmaṇa tối thượng đã đi, chỉ còn Śāṇḍilī—người giàu công khổ hạnh—ở lại.

Word by Word

• तथा: so, thus
• तथा: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• इति: thus (saying)
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्तिसूचक अव्यय (quotative particle)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• प्रतिज्ञाय: having promised
• प्रतिज्ञाय: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति + ज्ञा (धातु) → प्रतिज्ञा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभाव कृदन्त (gerund); ‘having promised’

• नारदाद्याः: Nārada and others
• नारदाद्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (आदि-समास: ‘Nārada and others’); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• अदर्शनम्: (there was) no sight; disappearance
• अदर्शनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘non-seeing/absence of sight’

• गतेषु: when (they) had gone
• गतेषु: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम् (धातु) → गत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle); पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन; ‘when (they) had gone’

• विप्रमुख्येषु: among the chief brāhmaṇas
• विप्रमुख्येषु: Adhikarana (Time/Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक) + मुख्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (निर्धारण/विशेष्यविशेषणभाव): ‘chief among brāhmaṇas’; पुल्लिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन

• शाण्डिली: Śāṇḍilī
• शाण्डिली: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाण्डिली (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

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

• तपोधना: rich in austerity
• तपोधना: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक) + धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुव्रीहि: ‘whose wealth is tapas’; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (शाण्डिली-विशेषण)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice within Revā Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-khaṇḍa (general)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of sages assent with folded hands; Nārada and companions fade like mist, leaving the scene to Śāṇḍilī—steady, austere, and central.

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Śāṇḍilī
• vipra (brāhmaṇas)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The text honors both sagehood and the power of tapas—especially embodied in Śāṇḍilī—showing that spiritual authority is rooted in disciplined virtue.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is explicitly named in this verse; it functions as a narrative transition within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s sacred setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; the verse emphasizes the binding nature of a vow (pratijñā) and the presence of tapas.