Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

मम पादतलं प्राप्य वह त्रिपथगामिनि । यदा बहूदककाले नर्मदाजलसंभृता

Transliteration

mama pādatalaṃ prāpya vaha tripathagāmini | yadā bahūdakakāle narmadājalasaṃbhṛtā

Translation

„O Strom, der auf drei Wegen zieht: Wenn du die Sohle Meines Fußes erreicht hast, fließe weiter. Wenn die Zeit des reichen Wassers kommt, wirst du mit den Wassern der Narmadā erfüllt sein.“

Word by Word

• मम: my
• मम: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), एकवचन

• पादतलम्: the sole of (my) foot
• पादतलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (पादस्य तलम्)

• प्राप्य: having reached
• प्राप्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + आप् (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यबन्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive): ‘प्राप्य’ = ‘having reached’

• वह: carry, flow
• वह: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वह् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• त्रिपथगामिनि: O three-pathed one (Gaṅgā)
• त्रिपथगामिनि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि + पथ + गामिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (त्रिपथं गच्छति इति)

• यदा: when
• यदा: Kāla (Temporal marker/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक conjunction/adverb): ‘यदा…तदा’

• बहूदककाले: in the season of much water (flood-time)
• बहूदककाले: Adhikaraṇa (Time locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बहु + उदक + काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (बहु उदकं यस्मिन् काले)

• नर्मदाजलसंभृता: filled with Narmadā’s waters
• नर्मदाजलसंभृता: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नर्मदा + जल + संभृत (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP) ‘संभृता’ = ‘filled’; तत्पुरुष (नर्मदायाः जलैः संभृता)

Speaker

Śiva (deduced from tīrtha-māhātmya command-address style within Revā Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) in ‘bahūdaka-kāla’ (abundant-water season)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Viṣṇu instructs Tripathagā to touch his foot-sole and flow onward; the river is envisioned as a goddess-stream connecting realms, later swelling with Narmadā waters.

Characters & Entities

• Tripathagā (Gaṅgā)
• Narmadā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine geography is purposeful: sacred rivers move by the Lord’s ordinance, and their seasonal fullness becomes a vehicle of merit for devotees.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage prepares the praise of Śaṅkhoddhāra-tīrtha in the Revā (Narmadā) region, where sacred waters are described as especially efficacious.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed here; it sets the condition (abundant-water season) that later verses connect to bathing and offerings.