Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 170

Devanagari script

अतः परं किं तु कुर्यां परं तीर्थानुकीर्तनम् । भवान्माता भवन्भ्राता भवांश्चैव पितामहः

Transliteration

ataḥ paraṃ kiṃ tu kuryāṃ paraṃ tīrthānukīrtanam | bhavānmātā bhavanbhrātā bhavāṃścaiva pitāmahaḥ

Translation

Was kann ich noch tun, außer dieses heilige Tīrtha zu preisen? Du bist mir Mutter, du bist Bruder, und wahrlich bist du ein ehrwürdiger Großvater.

Word by Word

• ataḥ: therefore
• ataḥ: Hetu/Reason (हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), उपपद/निपात; अर्थे—तस्मात् (therefore/from this)

• param: further
• param: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोग (adverbial use of adjective), अर्थे—अधिकम्/अनन्तरम् (further/more)

• kim: what
• kim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम (interrogative pronoun)

• tu: but
• tu: Sambandha/Discourse particle (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात/समुच्चय-व्यतिरेक (particle: but/indeed)

• kuryām: should I do
• kuryām: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṛ (कृ धातु)
• Form: लोट्/विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष?; actually उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; धातु—कृ (to do)

• param: more
• param: Kriya-visheshana (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोग (adverbial), अर्थे—अधिकम् (more/further)

• tīrtha-anukīrtanam: the recounting/praise of the sacred place
• tīrtha-anukīrtanam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + anukīrtana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (tīrthasya anukīrtanam)

• bhavān: you (honored)
• bhavān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; आदरार्थक सर्वनाम (honorific pronoun)

• mātā: mother
• mātā: Pradhāna-nāma (predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• bhavān: you
• bhavān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; आदरार्थक सर्वनाम

• bhrātā: brother
• bhrātā: Pradhāna-nāma (predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhrātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• bhavān: you
• bhavān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; आदरार्थक सर्वनाम

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय (conjunction: and)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधारण (emphatic particle: indeed/only)

• pitāmahaḥ: grandfather
• pitāmahaḥ: Pradhāna-nāma (predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Vṛṣa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (Narmadā ford)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee/king stands at a river-ford with folded hands, addressing a revered figure and the tīrtha itself in intimate kinship terms; riverbank with ghats, trees, and offerings.

Characters & Entities

• tīrtha
• rājā (king)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

One should respond to grace with praise of the sacred and heartfelt gratitude toward benefactors.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The same Revā Khaṇḍa tīrtha in the narrative; the focus here is on tīrtha-stuti (glorification).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tīrthānukīrtana—reciting and proclaiming the greatness of the holy site—is presented as the fitting response.