Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 115

Devanagari script

ऊचुः श्रेष्ठं नृपथेष्ठ रेवाया उत्तरे तटे । भारेश्वरेति विख्यातं मुक्तितीर्थं नृपोत्तम

Transliteration

ūcuḥ śreṣṭhaṃ nṛpatheṣṭha revāyā uttare taṭe | bhāreśvareti vikhyātaṃ muktitīrthaṃ nṛpottama

Translation

قالوا: «يا أيها الملك المحبوب في طريق الملوك، إنَّ الموضع الأسمى على الضفة الشمالية لنهر ريفَا (Revā)؛ مشهورٌ باسم بهاريشڤارا (Bhāreśvara)، وهو تيرثا (tīrtha) يمنح الموكشا والتحرّر، يا خيرَ الحكّام.»

Word by Word

• ūcuḥ: they said
• ūcuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (plural); परस्मैपदम्

• śreṣṭham: the best
• śreṣṭham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• nṛpatheṣṭha: O beloved of kings / O king’s favorite
• nṛpatheṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa + iṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सम्बोधन (Vocative/8th), एकवचन (singular)

• revāyāḥ: of Revā (Narmadā)
• revāyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: revā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (feminine), षष्ठी (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (singular)

• uttare: on the northern
• uttare: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (singular); विशेषणम् (qualifying)

• taṭe: bank
• taṭe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: taṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन (singular)

• bhāreśvara: Bhāreśvara (name of the tīrtha/Śiva)
• bhāreśvara: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāra + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• iti: thus / called
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: इति-शब्दः (quotative particle)

• vikhyātam: renowned
• vikhyātam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi + khyā (धातु) → vikhyāta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (singular)

• muktitīrtham: the liberation-giving sacred ford
• muktitīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukti + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (singular)

• nṛpottama: O best of kings
• nṛpottama: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa + uttama (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (masculine), सम्बोधन (Vocative/8th), एकवचन (singular)

Speaker

Brahmins (dvijottamāḥ) addressing the king

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bhāreśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Assemblage of sages/king (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sages/counsellors address a king, pointing toward the northern bank of the Revā, naming Bhāreśvara as a liberation-giving tīrtha; the river glows with sacred presence.

Characters & Entities

• Revā (Narmadā)
• Bhāreśvara
• Muktitīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is not random; tradition points to specific charged locations where devotion, ritual, and grace converge to yield mokṣa-oriented merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Bhāreśvara—described as a muktitīrtha—on the northern bank of the Revā (Narmadā).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An instruction of destination: go to Bhāreśvara tīrtha; implied are the standard tīrtha acts of snāna and dāna stated earlier.