Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

तेषां नाथो जगद्योनिर्नर्मदातटमाश्रितः । सांवौरनाथो लोकानामार्तिहा दुःखनाशनः

Transliteration

teṣāṃ nātho jagadyonirnarmadātaṭamāśritaḥ | sāṃvauranātho lokānāmārtihā duḥkhanāśanaḥ

Translation

Ihr Beschützer ist der Ursprung der Welt, der am Ufer der Narmadā weilt: Sāṃvauranātha, der die Not der Menschen vertreibt und den Kummer vernichtet.

Word by Word

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/सर्वलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• नाथः: protector/lord
• नाथः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जगद्योनिः: source of the world
• जगद्योनिः: Apposition (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् + योनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासार्थः—‘जगतः योनि:’

• नर्मदातटम्: the bank of the Narmadā
• नर्मदातटम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा + तट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘नर्मदायाः तटम्’

• आश्रितः: having resorted to/dwelling on
• आश्रितः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-श्रि (धातु) → आश्रित (कृदन्त/क्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; (नर्मदातटम्) द्वितीया-सम्बन्धः

• सांवौरनाथः: the lord of Sāṃvaura
• सांवौरनाथः: Apposition (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सांवौर + नाथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘सांवौरस्य नाथः’

• लोकानाम्: of the worlds/of people
• लोकानाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• आर्तिहा: remover of distress
• आर्तिहा: Apposition (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आर्ति + हन् (धातु) → हा (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-निष्पन्न)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘आर्तिं हन्ति’ इति (agent noun)

• दुःखनाशनः: destroyer of sorrow
• दुःखनाशनः: Apposition (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख + नाशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘दुःखस्य नाशनः’

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (continuing)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sāṃvauranātha (at Sāṃvaura Tīrtha)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On the Narmadā bank stands the shrine of Sāṃvauranātha; a compassionate, luminous presence radiates from the liṅga/Nātha, sheltering afflicted and abandoned devotees who bow in relief as their sorrow lifts.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā
• Sāṃvauranātha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The divine is praised as accessible and protective through place—Sāṃvauranātha on Narmadā’s bank becomes the guardian of the afflicted.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Sāṃvaura Tīrtha and its presiding lord Sāṃvauranātha on the Narmadā riverbank.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite here; it identifies the deity and the site’s protective power.