Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

अग्निश्च तेजो मृडया च देहे रेतोऽथ विष्णुरमृतस्य नाभिः । एतद्ब्रुवन् पाण्डव सत्यवाक्यं ततोऽवगाहेत पतिं नदीनाम्

Transliteration

agniśca tejo mṛḍayā ca dehe reto'tha viṣṇuramṛtasya nābhiḥ | etadbruvan pāṇḍava satyavākyaṃ tato'vagāheta patiṃ nadīnām

Translation

«النارُ والضياءُ في الجسد، وبذرةُ التناسل فيه؛ حقًّا إن فيشنو (Viṣṇu) هو سُرّةُ الخلود». فإذا نطقَ الباندافا (Pāṇḍava) بهذه الكلمة الصادقة، فليغتَمِسْ بعد ذلك في سيّد الأنهار.

Word by Word

• अग्निः: fire
• अग्निः: Karta (Subject/member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात (conjunction)

• तेजः: splendour/energy
• तेजः: Karta (Subject/member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तेजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• मृडया: with grace/mercy (Mṛḍā)
• मृडया: Karana (Instrument/association)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृडा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात

• देहे: in the body
• देहे: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• रेतः: semen/seed
• रेतः: Karta (Subject/member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अथ: then/and
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तर/प्रसङ्ग-निपात (then/and further)

• विष्णुः: Viṣṇu
• विष्णुः: Karta (Subject/member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अमृतस्य: of nectar/immortality
• अमृतस्य: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• नाभिः: navel
• नाभिः: Karta (Subject/member of list / predicate noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाभि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma (Object of speaking)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ब्रुवन्: saying/uttering
• ब्रुवन्: Karta (Agent of main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• पाण्डव: O Pāṇḍava
• पाण्डव: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• सत्यवाक्यम्: true speech/true words
• सत्यवाक्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier of object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सत्य (प्रातिपदिक) + वाक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सत्यं वाक्यम् (कर्मधारय); एतत् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• ततः: thereupon/then
• ततः: Adhikarana (Sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अपादानार्थक/क्रमवाचक अव्यय (thereupon/from that)

• अवगाहेत: should plunge/bathe
• अवगाहेत: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + गाह् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (potential/optative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पतिम्: the lord
• पतिम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• नदीनाम्: of rivers
• नदीनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

Speaker

Narrator prescribing a bathing utterance to Yudhiṣṭhira

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-snānā at Narmadā-udadhi-saṅgama (avaghāha with satya-vākya)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kaunteya/Pāṇḍava and the royal addressee in the instructional frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim waist-deep in the river at the confluence, eyes half-closed in contemplation; subtle flames/auras symbolize agni and tejas around the body; above, a faint Viṣṇu symbol at the ‘navel of immortality’ motif (lotus/solar disc) appears in the sky-water reflection.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Pāṇḍava (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Pati of rivers (contextually Narmadā as river-lord in this tīrtha frame)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purification is tied to sacred cosmology: the body, elements, and divine source are contemplated before immersion, aligning inner and outer tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The bathing/immersion context is the Narmadā–Sāgara-saṅgama tīrtha within Revā-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Recite the stated ‘truth-utterance’ and then perform avagāha (ritual immersion) in the sacred river/ocean confluence.