Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा नन्दां देवीं प्रपूजयेत् । किं तस्य हिमवन्मध्यगमनेन प्रयोजनम्

Transliteration

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā nandāṃ devīṃ prapūjayet | kiṃ tasya himavanmadhyagamanena prayojanam

Translation

Wer an jenem Tīrtha badet und die Göttin Nandā gebührend verehrt, wozu müsste er dann noch ins Herz des Himālaya reisen?

Word by Word

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

• तीर्थे: at the sacred ford
• तीर्थे: अधिकरण (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• तु: indeed; but
• तु: सम्बन्ध (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• यः: whoever
• यः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (relative pronoun)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: पूर्वकाल (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), स्ना-धातोः

• नन्दाम्: Nandā
• नन्दाम्: कर्म (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्दा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• देवीम्: the goddess
• देवीम्: कर्म (Object - apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; अप्पोजिशन (नन्दाम्)

• प्रपूजयेत्: should worship
• प्रपूजयेत्: क्रिया (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + पूज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• किम्: what?
• किम्: प्रश्न (Interrogative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nominative/Accusative), एकवचन; प्रश्नार्थक

• तस्य: for him; of him
• तस्य: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• हिमवन्मध्यगमनेन: by going to the middle of Himavat
• हिमवन्मध्यगमनेन: करण (Instrument/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिमवत् + मध्य + गमन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषसमास (determinative): ‘हिमवतः मध्ये गमनम्’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• प्रयोजनम्: purpose; need
• प्रयोजनम्: कर्ता (Subject - predicate noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रयोजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (contextual, instructing on tīrtha glory)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nandā-hrada

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee bathes in Nandā-hrada and then worships Devī at a simple riverside shrine; in the background, faint snow peaks symbolize the Himalaya, shown as unnecessary to reach because Devī’s grace is already present here.

Characters & Entities

• Nandā Devī
• Himālaya (Himavat)
• Narmadā tīrtha (contextual)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A nearby, rightly approached tīrtha with devotion can bestow the same spiritual fulfillment sought in distant pilgrimages.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha of Nandā-hrada associated with the Narmadā region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bathing) at the tīrtha followed by proper pūjā (worship) of Nandā Devī.