Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

सम्मार्जनाभ्युक्षणलेपनेन तदालये नश्यति सर्वपापम् । नारी नराणां परया तु भक्त्या दृष्ट्वा तु रेवां नरसत्तमस्य

Transliteration

sammārjanābhyukṣaṇalepanena tadālaye naśyati sarvapāpam | nārī narāṇāṃ parayā tu bhaktyā dṛṣṭvā tu revāṃ narasattamasya

Translation

Durch Fegen, Besprengen (mit geweihtem Wasser) und Bestreichen im Innern jenes Heiligtums werden alle Sünden vernichtet. Und eine Frau, in höchster Hingabe, erlangt beim Anblick der Revā (Narmadā) — o Bester der Männer — dieses reinigende Verdienst.

Word by Word

• sammārjana-abhyukṣaṇa-lepanena: by sweeping, sprinkling, and plastering
• sammārjana-abhyukṣaṇa-lepanena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sammārjana (√mṛj, कृदन्त/भाव-प्रातिपदिक) + abhyukṣaṇa (√ukṣ, कृदन्त/भाव-प्रातिपदिक) + lepana (√lip, कृदन्त/भाव-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (सम्मार्जनं च अभ्युक्षणं च लेपनं च); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन (समाहार-द्वन्द्व as instrument)

• tat-ālaye: in that abode/temple
• tat-ālaye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + ālaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष (तस्य आलये); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• naśyati: perishes/is destroyed
• naśyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √naś (नश्)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• sarva-pāpam: all sin
• sarva-pāpam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (सर्वं पापम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• nārī: a woman
• nārī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• narāṇām: of men
• narāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• parayā: supreme/utter
• parayā: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; विशेषण (of bhaktyā)

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic/contrastive particle)

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (दृश्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having seen’

• tu: indeed/and
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• revām: Reva (Narmada river)
• revām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: revā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• nara-sattamasya: of the best of men
• nara-sattamasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (नराणां सत्तमः); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (contextually within Mārkaṇḍeya’s narration in Revā Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) darśana; Revā-kṣetra shrine-sevā

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inside a riverside shrine: devotees sweep the floor, sprinkle sanctified water, smear auspicious paste; a woman stands at the doorway with folded hands, gazing toward the flowing Revā beyond.

Characters & Entities

• Revā (Narmadā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Humble service to a sacred shrine and devoted darśana of Revā are powerful means for purification from sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Revā (the Narmadā) and her shrine/abode within the Revā Khaṇḍa sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Cleansing practices: sweeping, sprinkling sanctified water, and smearing/plastering the sacred area as devotional service.