Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

सहस्रावर्तकं तत्र तीर्थं सौगन्धिकं तथा । सङ्गमश्च सरस्वत्या ईशानं तीर्थमुत्तमम्

Transliteration

sahasrāvartakaṃ tatra tīrthaṃ saugandhikaṃ tathā | saṅgamaśca sarasvatyā īśānaṃ tīrthamuttamam

Translation

সেখানে সহস্রাবর্তক তীর্থ ও সৌগন্ধিক তীর্থ আছে; সরস্বতী-সঙ্গম এবং ‘ঈশান’ নামে উৎকৃষ্ট তীর্থও আছে।

Word by Word

• सहस्रावर्तकम्: Sahasrāvartaka (name of a tīrtha)
• सहस्रावर्तकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक) + आवर्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (तीर्थनाम)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• तीर्थम्: a sacred ford
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सौगन्धिकम्: Saugandhika / fragrant
• सौगन्धिकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुगन्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (तीर्थस्य विशेषण/नाम)

• तथा: also
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• सङ्गमः: confluence
• सङ्गमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सङ्गम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

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

• सरस्वत्याः: of Sarasvatī
• सरस्वत्याः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)

• ईशानम्: Īśāna (name of a tīrtha)
• ईशानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईशान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (तीर्थनाम)

• तीर्थम्: a tīrtha
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• उत्तमम्: excellent/supreme
• उत्तमम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (विशेषण)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced for Āvantya/Revā narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sahasrāvartaka; Saugandhika; Sarasvatī-saṅgama; Īśāna

Type: sangam

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dramatic river bend with many whirlpools (sahasra-āvarta), a fragrant flowering grove near the bank (saugandhika), and a clear tributary joining the main river (Sarasvatī-saṅgama) with a small Īśāna shrine facing northeast.

Characters & Entities

• Sahasrāvartaka-tīrtha
• Saugandhika-tīrtha
• Sarasvatī-saṅgama
• Īśāna-tīrtha
• Īśāna (Śiva-aspect)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The landscape itself is sanctified through divine names and natural markers (whirlpools, fragrance, confluences), guiding devotees to experience Śiva’s presence as Īśāna.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Sahasrāvartaka-tīrtha, Saugandhika-tīrtha, Sarasvatī-saṅgama, and Īśāna-tīrtha are the named sites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse enumerates tīrthas within the chapter’s māhātmya framework.