Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

पश्यते मेदिनीं देवः सवृक्षौषधिपल्वलाम् । हिमवन्तं गिरिश्रेष्ठं श्वेतं पर्वतमुत्तमम्

Transliteration

paśyate medinīṃ devaḥ savṛkṣauṣadhipalvalām | himavantaṃ giriśreṣṭhaṃ śvetaṃ parvatamuttamam

Translation

وتأمَّل الإلهُ الأرضَ—مُزدانةً بالأشجارِ والأعشابِ الشافيةِ ومياهِ المستنقعات—ورأى هيمَفان، خيرَ الجبال، ورأى جبلَ شڤيتا السامي.

Word by Word

• paśyate: sees
• paśyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √paś (पश् धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद — ‘he sees’

• medinīm: the earth
• medinīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: medinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• devaḥ: the god
• devaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• sa-vṛkṣa-auṣadhi-palvalām: with trees, herbs, and marshes
• sa-vṛkṣa-auṣadhi-palvalām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sa (अव्यय/उपसर्गसदृश) + vṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + auṣadhi (प्रातिपदिक) + palvala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — विशेषणम् (medinīm); ‘वृक्ष-औषधि-पल्वलैः सह’ (possessing trees, herbs, marshes)

• himavantam: Himavat (Himalaya)
• himavantam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: himavant (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• giri-śreṣṭham: best among mountains
• giri-śreṣṭham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: giri (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — विशेषणम् (himavantam); ‘गिरिषु श्रेष्ठः’

• śvetam: white
• śvetam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śveta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — विशेषणम् (parvatam)

• parvatam: mountain
• parvatam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parvata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• uttamam: excellent; supreme
• uttamam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन — विशेषणम् (parvatam)

Speaker

Unknown (contextual narrator in Revā Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Himavān (as sacred mountain archetype)

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Maheśvara gazes upon a verdant earth: forests, medicinal herbs, marshes and ponds; in the distance rise the snow-clad Himalaya and a luminous white peak (Śveta).

Characters & Entities

• Parameśvara
• Earth (Medinī)
• Himavān (Himalaya)
• Śveta Parvata

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Nature—mountains, forests, and healing herbs—is part of divine restoration and therefore worthy of reverence and dharmic stewardship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mountains are named (Himavān, Śveta), but no specific Revā tīrtha is singled out in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is descriptive.