Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

द्वादशादित्यनिर्दग्धाः शैलाः शीर्णशिलाः पृथक् । भस्मीभूतास्तु दृश्यन्ते न नष्टा नर्मदा तदा

Transliteration

dvādaśādityanirdagdhāḥ śailāḥ śīrṇaśilāḥ pṛthak | bhasmībhūtāstu dṛśyante na naṣṭā narmadā tadā

Translation

Die Berge, von den zwölf Sonnen versengt, standen getrennt, ihr Gestein zersplittert; man sah sie zu Asche geworden — doch damals wurde Narmadā nicht vernichtet.

Word by Word

• द्वादशादित्यनिर्दग्धाः: burnt by the twelve suns
• द्वादशादित्यनिर्दग्धाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वादश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + आदित्य (प्रातिपदिक) + निर्दग्ध (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (शैलाः); तत्पुरुष-समास (द्वादशभिः आदित्यैः निर्दग्धाः)

• शैलाः: mountains
• शैलाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शैल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• शीर्णशिलाः: with crumbled rocks
• शीर्णशिलाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शीर्ण (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + शिला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (शैलाः); कर्मधारय (शीर्णाः शिलाः येषां ते)

• पृथक्: separately
• पृथक्: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: ‘separately/each’)

• भस्मीभूताः: turned to ashes
• भस्मीभूताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भस्मीभू (नामधातु/धातु)
• Form: भू-धातोः क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘having become ashes’

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Contrast/तु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle: contrast/emphasis)

• दृश्यन्ते: are seen/appear
• दृश्यन्ते: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive sense): ‘are seen’

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation)

• नष्टा: destroyed/lost
• नष्टा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नष्ट (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √नश्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (नर्मदा)

• नर्मदा: Narmadā
• नर्मदा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तदा: then/at that time
• तदा: Sambandha (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

Speaker

Narrator in the Revā Khaṇḍa (contextual purāṇic voice; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa relating the māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Narmadā (Revā)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A terrifying yet majestic scene: twelve blazing suns in the sky; mountains crumble into ash; the landscape is grey and fractured—yet a bright, cool Narmadā ribbon persists, untouched.

Characters & Entities

• Twelve Ādityas (twelve suns)
• Mountains
• Narmadā (Revā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse teaches the incomparable sanctity of Narmadā: what even cosmic heat dissolves cannot erase a divinely protected tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Narmadā (Revā) is explicitly glorified as surviving the twelve-sun conflagration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it is a pralaya-themed praise passage to strengthen faith in the tīrtha.