Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

अपश्यं नर्मदां तत्र मातरं विश्ववन्दिताम् । नानातरङ्गां सावर्तां सुवेलार्णवसंनिभाम्

Transliteration

apaśyaṃ narmadāṃ tatra mātaraṃ viśvavanditām | nānātaraṅgāṃ sāvartāṃ suvelārṇavasaṃnibhām

Translation

Dort erblickte ich Narmadā, die Mutter, von der ganzen Welt verehrt, erfüllt von unzähligen Wogen und Wirbeln, dem Ozean gleich, von hohen Ufern umschlossen.

Word by Word

• अपश्यम्: I saw
• अपश्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पश् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन (singular); परस्मैपदम्

• नर्मदाम्: Narmadā (river)
• नर्मदाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

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

• मातरम्: mother
• मातरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मातृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• विश्ववन्दिताम्: praised by the whole world
• विश्ववन्दिताम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विश्व + वन्दित (कृदन्त; √वन्द्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular); भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle)

• नाना-तरङ्गाम्: having various waves
• नाना-तरङ्गाम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नाना (अव्यय) + तरङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• सावर्ताम्: with whirlpools/eddies
• सावर्ताम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + आवर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• सुवेला-अर्णव-संनिभाम्: resembling the ocean at Suvelā (mountain)
• सुवेला-अर्णव-संनिभाम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुवेला (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक) + संनिभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhārata / best of kings (royal interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim-narrator beholds Narmadā as a vast, wave-filled Mother-river, with swirling eddies and high banks like ocean shores.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā (Revā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Narmadā is revered as a living Mother and tīrtha; beholding her is presented as a sacred encounter that uplifts the devotee amid worldly turbulence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mother Narmadā (Revā) herself—the river-tīrtha central to the Revā Khaṇḍa—rather than a single named ghat or ford.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated, but the verse supports the tīrtha-logic of darśana (seeing the river) as spiritually significant.