Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

तां वेदगर्भां विख्यातां विबुधौघाभिवन्दिताम् । वद मे त्वं महाप्राज्ञ तीर्थपूगपरिष्कृताम्

Transliteration

tāṃ vedagarbhāṃ vikhyātāṃ vibudhaughābhivanditām | vada me tvaṃ mahāprājña tīrthapūgapariṣkṛtām

Translation

Sprich zu mir, o hochweise, von jenem berühmten Fluss — der die Veden in sich trägt, von Scharen der Götter verehrt und mit zahllosen Tīrthas geschmückt.

Word by Word

• tām: that (her)
• tām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun

• veda-garbhām: containing the Veda / Veda-embodied
• veda-garbhām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण) of tām
• Type: Adjective
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक) + garbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘वेदस्य गर्भः’ → ‘having the Veda within’) used as epithet

• vikhyātām: renowned
• vikhyātām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-khyā (धातु) → vikhyāta (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; ‘well-known’

• vibudha-ogha-abhivanditām: revered by hosts of gods
• vibudha-ogha-abhivanditām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vibudha (प्रातिपदिक) + ogha (प्रातिपदिक) + abhi-vand (धातु) → abhivandita (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः: (विबुधानाम् ओघः) + तेन अभिवन्दिता; क्त-प्रत्यय participle

• vada: tell / speak
• vada: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vad (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• me: to me
• me: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• mahā-prājña: O greatly wise one
• mahā-prājña: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + prājña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः; संबोधन-प्रयोग

• tīrtha-pūga-pariṣkṛtām: adorned/embellished with a multitude of tīrthas
• tīrtha-pūga-pariṣkṛtām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + pūga (प्रातिपदिक) + pari-√kṛ (धातु) → pariṣkṛta (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘तीर्थाणां पूगः’ तेन परिष्कृता; क्त-प्रत्यय

Speaker

Śaunaka

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sūta / the addressed mahāprājña

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A supplicant addresses a great sage, requesting a full account of the famed Narmadā—Veda-filled, worshipped by gods, and ornamented with countless tīrthas.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Śaunaka
• Vibudha (Devas)
• Veda
• Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A true tīrtha is not merely water—it is Vedic sanctity embodied, validated by divine reverence and by a landscape of holy fords.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse anticipates Narmadā (Revā) as the famed ‘Veda-garbhā’ river surrounded by innumerable tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it requests authoritative description, which typically leads to prescribed snāna, darśana, and tīrtha-sevā in subsequent verses.