Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 60

Devanagari script

दधिस्कन्दं मधुस्कन्दं नन्दिकेशं च वारुणम् । पावकेश्वरतीर्थं च तथैव कपिलेश्वरम्

Transliteration

dadhiskandaṃ madhuskandaṃ nandikeśaṃ ca vāruṇam | pāvakeśvaratīrthaṃ ca tathaiva kapileśvaram

Translation

«(وفيها) المواضع المقدّسة المسماة دادْهِيسْكانْدَا (Dadhiskanda) ومادْهوسْكانْدَا (Madhuskanda)، وكذلك نَنْدِيكِيشَا (Nandikeśa) وفارُونَا (Vāruṇa)؛ وأيضًا مَخاض بافاكِيشْفَرا (Pāvakeśvara) المقدّس، وكذلك كَبِيلِيشْفَرا (Kapileśvara).»

Word by Word

• दधिस्कन्दम्: Dadhiskanda (name of a tīrtha/shrine)
• दधिस्कन्दम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दधि-स्कन्द (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नाम

• मधुस्कन्दम्: Madhuskanda (name of a tīrtha/shrine)
• मधुस्कन्दम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मधु-स्कन्द (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नाम

• नन्दिकेशम्: Nandikeśa (name of a shrine)
• नन्दिकेशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्दि-केश (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नाम

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

• वारुणम्: Vāruṇa (Varuṇa-related place/tīrtha)
• वारुणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वारुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नाम/विशेष्य (Varuṇa-related tīrtha)

• पावकेश्वरतीर्थम्: Pāvakeśvara-tīrtha
• पावकेश्वरतीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पावक-ईश्वर-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नाम

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

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/समुच्चयार्थक (adverb: ‘likewise/also’)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चय/अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (particle)

• कपिलेश्वरम्: Kapileśvara (shrine name)
• कपिलेश्वरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपिल-ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नाम

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Revā Khaṇḍa pilgrimage narration style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pāvakeśvara-tīrtha (with Vāruṇa/Nandikeśa/Kapileśvara cluster)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A river ford at dusk: pilgrims bathe, then light lamps (Pāvaka) on the bank; a shrine of Vāruṇa near the water; Nandī facing a liṅga at Nandikeśa; Kapileśvara shrine with a sage Kapila motif (matted hair, seated in meditation) suggested iconographically.

Characters & Entities

• Dadhiskanda
• Madhuskanda
• Nandikeśa
• Vāruṇa
• Pāvakeśvara
• Kapileśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Remembering and visiting the named tīrthas is presented as a dharmic map—sacred geography that supports purification and devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Multiple sites are invoked by name: Dadhiskanda, Madhuskanda, Nandikeśa, Vāruṇa, Pāvakeśvara-tīrtha, and Kapileśvara—within the Revā Khaṇḍa pilgrimage landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated in this verse; it functions as an authoritative enumeration of tīrthas for pilgrimage and remembrance.