Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 108

Devanagari script

नर्मदानीरनिर्णिक्ता मार्कण्डेयविनिर्मिता । मण्डनायेह साधूनां सर्वलोकहिताय च

Transliteration

narmadānīranirṇiktā mārkaṇḍeyavinirmitā | maṇḍanāyeha sādhūnāṃ sarvalokahitāya ca

Translation

Von den Wassern der Narmadā rein gewaschen und von Mārkaṇḍeya gestaltet, steht es hier als Zierde der Frommen und zum Heil aller Welten.

Word by Word

• नर्मदा-नीर-निर्णिक्ता: washed/cleansed by the waters of the Narmadā
• नर्मदा-नीर-निर्णिक्ता: Visheshana (Adjectival predicate/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक) + नीर (प्रातिपदिक) + नि√रिक् (धातु) → निर्णिक्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), ‘निर्णिक्ता’ = ‘धोता/शुद्धीकृता’; समासः—नर्मदायाः नीरम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) + तेन निर्णिक्ता (तृतीया-तत्पुरुष)

• मार्कण्डेय-विनिर्मिता: made/constructed by Mārkaṇḍeya
• मार्कण्डेय-विनिर्मिता: Visheshana (Adjectival predicate/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मार्कण्डेय (प्रातिपदिक) + वि-नि√मा (धातु) → विनिर्मित (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त) ‘विनिर्मिता’; समासः—मार्कण्डेयेन विनिर्मिता (तृतीया-तत्पुरुष)

• मण्डनाय: for adornment/ornamentation
• मण्डनाय: Sampradana (Recipient/Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मण्डन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (4th/Dative), एकवचन; प्रयोजन/सम्प्रदानार्थे

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikarana (Locative setting/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of place)

• साधूनाम्: of the virtuous/saints
• साधूनाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साधु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• सर्व-लोक-हिताय: for the welfare of all worlds/people
• सर्व-लोक-हिताय: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + लोक (प्रातिपदिक) + हित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—सर्वेषां लोकानां हितम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) → ‘सर्वलोकहित’; चतुर्थी प्रयोजनार्थे

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक निपात (conjunction)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā/Narmadā tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene Narmadā riverbank where a sage Mārkaṇḍeya consecrates or fashions a sacred object/inscription, freshly washed by river-water; sādhus gather as the place becomes an ‘adornment’ for the virtuous.

Characters & Entities

• Revā (Narmadā)
• Mārkaṇḍeya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holiness is portrayed as both purifying (through Narmadā water) and constructive (through r̥ṣi agency), serving the common good (sarva-loka-hita).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse alludes to a sanctified creation associated with Mārkaṇḍeya on the Narmadā/Revā bank (within the same tīrtha-context), without naming a single tīrtha here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; purification by Narmadā water is emphasized as the operative sacred principle.