Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

यन्त्रादानैः प्रतोलीभिरुच्चैश्चान्यैः सुशोभिता । देवतायतनैर्दिव्यैराश्रमैर्गहनैर्युता

Transliteration

yantrādānaiḥ pratolībhiruccaiścānyaiḥ suśobhitā | devatāyatanairdivyairāśramairgahanairyutā

Translation

Thành ấy rực rỡ với những cổng thành cao vút và các kiến trúc uy nghi khác. Nơi đây còn có những đền thờ chư thiên linh diệu và các ẩn viện (āśrama) thâm u tĩnh mịch.

Word by Word

• यन्त्र-आदानैः: with devices/contrivances
• यन्त्र-आदानैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यन्त्र (प्रातिपदिक) + आदान (प्रातिपदिक; 'taking/receiving; apparatus' in context 'devices/contrivances')
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुष (यन्त्राणाम् आदानैः—'with mechanical contrivances/structures')

• प्रतोलीभिः: with gateways/arches
• प्रतोलीभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रतोली (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Instrumental plural)

• उच्चैः: high/aloft
• उच्चैः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उच्चैः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• अन्यैः: with other (things)
• अन्यैः: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifier to implied items)

• सु-शोभिता: beautifully adorned
• सु-शोभिता: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + शोभित (कृदन्त; √शुभ्/शोभ्; past participle)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त; सु- उपसर्गेण 'well/beautifully'

• देवतā-आयतनैः: with temples
• देवतā-आयतनैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवता (प्रातिपदिक) + आयतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (देवतायाः आयतनैः—'with temples of deities')

• दिव्यैः: divine/splendid
• दिव्यैः: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (देवतायतनैः)

• आश्रमैः: with hermitages
• आश्रमैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• गहनैः: secluded/dense
• गहनैः: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (आश्रमैः)

• युता: endowed with
• युता: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युक्त (कृदन्त; √युज् 'to join'; past participle)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (endowed/possessed with)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Towering city gateways opening into avenues lined with shrines; beyond, a shaded grove with a quiet hermitage where sages sit in meditation.

Characters & Entities

• devatāyatana (temples)
• āśrama (hermitages)
• Vārāṇasī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A kṣetra is sanctified by both public worship (temples) and private realization (forest-like āśramas).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī (Kāśī), praised through its sacred infrastructure—shrines and hermitages.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse emphasizes the presence of temples and āśrama life that support pūjā, vrata, and tapas.