Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

दानव उवाच । स्थीयतां देवदेवेश यावज्ज्ञास्यामि ते वरम् । युष्मन्मूर्ध्नि न्यसे पाणिं प्रत्ययो मे भवेद्यथा

Transliteration

dānava uvāca | sthīyatāṃ devadeveśa yāvajjñāsyāmi te varam | yuṣmanmūrdhni nyase pāṇiṃ pratyayo me bhavedyathā

Translation

Danava thưa: Lạy Đấng Tối Thượng của chư thiên, xin hãy dừng lại cho đến khi ta được chắc chắn về ân huệ của Ngài. Xin cho ta đặt tay lên đỉnh đầu Ngài, để ta có bằng chứng.

Word by Word

• dānavaḥ: the demon
• dānavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (वच् धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• sthīyatām: please remain; let (it) stay
• sthīyatām: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sthā (स्था धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive imperative: ‘let it be stayed/please remain’)

• deva-deveśa: O Lord of the gods
• deva-deveśa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + deveśa (प्रातिपदिक: deva+īśa)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘देवानां ईशः’); पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• yāvat: until
• yāvat: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time circumstance/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — कालपरिमाणार्थक (until/as long as)

• jñāsyāmi: I will know/ascertain
• jñāsyāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jñā (ज्ञा धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• te: your
• te: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive/6th) एकवचन (Singular) (also possible चतुर्थी; here genitive: ‘your’)

• varam: boon
• varam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• yuṣmat-mūrdhni: on your head
• yuṣmat-mūrdhni: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + mūrdhan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (‘युष्माकं मूर्धा’); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• nyase: I place
• nyase: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-√as (अस्/अस्यति धातु ‘to place/throw’)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• pāṇim: hand
• pāṇim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāṇi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• pratyayaḥ: certainty; assurance
• pratyayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pratyaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• me: my
• me: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• bhavet: may be; should arise
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• yathā: so that; as
• yathā: Kriya-visheshana (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय — प्रकार/उपमानार्थक (as/so that)

Speaker

Dānava (Daitya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha milieu

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The demon halts Śiva, insisting on immediate verification: he wants to place his hand on Śiva’s head to confirm the boon—an audacious, dangerous gesture.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Dānava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Distrust and arrogance turn devotion into offense; testing the divine for ‘proof’ becomes a mark of spiritual immaturity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No; the verse is narrative dialogue within the Revā Khaṇḍa context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes an attempted act (touching the head) to verify a boon.