Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

जपहोमपरो भक्त्या क्षणं ध्यात्वा च तिष्ठति । ज्वलमानात्तु कपिला तावत्कुण्डात्समुत्थिता

Transliteration

japahomaparo bhaktyā kṣaṇaṃ dhyātvā ca tiṣṭhati | jvalamānāttu kapilā tāvatkuṇḍātsamutthitā

Translation

“他以虔敬专注于持诵（japa）与火供（homa），稍作停驻，片刻入定。随即，迦毗罗（Kapilā）光焰炽然，立刻从圣坑（kuṇḍa）中涌现而出。”

Word by Word

• जप-होम-परः: devoted to japa and homa
• जप-होम-परः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: japa (प्रातिपदिक) + homa (प्रातिपदिक) + para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (qualifying implied ब्रह्मा)

• भक्त्या: with devotion
• भक्त्या: Karana (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• क्षणम्: for a moment
• क्षणम्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular) — कालपरिमाण (duration)

• ध्यात्वा: having meditated
• ध्यात्वा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्यै (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• तिष्ठति: stands, remains
• तिष्ठति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• ज्वलमानात्: from (that which is) blazing
• ज्वलमानात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्वल् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (Present active participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular); स्रोतः (from the blazing [pit])

• तु: then/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/अन्वयबोधक-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• कपिला: Kapilā (the cow)
• कपिला: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapilā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• तावत्: at that moment
• तावत्: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: परिमाण/अवधिबोधक-अव्यय (adverb: then/so much/at that time)

• कुण्डात्: from the pit/pool
• कुण्डात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन (Singular)

• समुत्थिता: arisen, emerged
• समुत्थिता: Kriya (Predicative to subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + उत् + स्था (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (Past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); कर्तरि प्रयोगे (as predicate adjective to कपिला)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (narrating)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapilā Tīrtha

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājā (Bhārata)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A blazing sacrificial altar: Brahmā (or a great sage-figure) performing homa, hands poised; from the fire-pit rises Kapilā, radiant and cow-formed, emerging in a burst of golden-red light; attendants recoil in awe.

Characters & Entities

• Kapilā
• kuṇḍa
• japa
• homa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional discipline—japa, homa, and meditation—invites divine manifestation and sanctifies space into a tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kapilā-tīrtha’s sanctity is rooted in the manifestation of Kapilā from a sacrificial kuṇḍa, forming the tīrtha’s origin story.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Japa (mantra recitation), homa (fire offering), and dhyāna (meditation) are explicitly referenced as the devotional context.