Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

किंचिद्गते ततस्तस्मिन्घोरे वर्षशताधिके । अर्धरात्रे तदा कन्या जलादुत्तीर्य भारत

Transliteration

kiṃcidgate tatastasminghore varṣaśatādhike | ardharātre tadā kanyā jalāduttīrya bhārata

Translation

Nachdem einige Zeit vergangen war—mehr als hundert schreckliche Jahre—da stieg um Mitternacht, o Bhārata, ein Mädchen aus dem Wasser empor.

Word by Word

• किंचित्: a little
• किंचित्: Kala-parimana (Extent of time/कालपरिमाण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किंचित् (अव्यय/सर्वनाम-निपात)
• Form: परिमाणवाचक-अव्यय (a little/somewhat)

• गते: when (some time) had passed
• गते: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Past participle used in locative absolute, Neuter, Locative (7th), Singular

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: ततस्-प्रभव-अव्यय (ablatival adverb: then/from that)

• तस्मिन्: in that (time/occasion)
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Pronoun, Locative (7th), Singular

• घोरे: terrible
• घोरे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Adjective agreeing with तस्मिन् (locative)

• वर्षशताधिके: exceeding a hundred years
• वर्षशताधिके: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर्ष-शत-अधिक (प्रातिपदिक; वर्ष + शत + अधिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Locative (7th), Singular; विशेषण (तस्मिन्)

• अर्धरात्रे: at midnight
• अर्धरात्रे: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्ध-रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक; अर्ध + रात्रि)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन — Feminine, Locative (7th), Singular

• तदा: then
• तदा: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (then)

• कन्या: a maiden
• कन्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Feminine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• जलात्: from the water
• जलात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन — Neuter, Ablative (5th), Singular

• उत्तीर्य: having come out (having crossed)
• उत्तीर्य: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकाल-क्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उत्+√तॄ (धातु) + ल्यप् (अव्यय-कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया — Absolutive (having crossed/come out)

• भारत: O Bhārata
• भारत: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन — Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

Narrator (Skanda Purāṇa narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā/Narmadā (epiphany-point)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhārata

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At midnight, the dark Narmadā glimmers under moonlight; after a long ominous interval, a radiant maiden rises from the water, hair wet, surrounded by ripples and faint lotus blooms, while distant sages sense the event.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā (implied by context)
• Maiden (kanyā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrthas are portrayed as living, revelatory spaces where the divine can manifest in time and circumstance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The sacred waters of the Narmadā (Revā), from which the maiden emerges.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse sets a narrative scene of divine manifestation connected with holy waters.