Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

एतत्पवित्रमतुलं ह्येतत्पापहरं परम् । नर्मदाचरितं पुण्यं माहात्म्यं मुनिभाषितम्

Transliteration

etatpavitramatulaṃ hyetatpāpaharaṃ param | narmadācaritaṃ puṇyaṃ māhātmyaṃ munibhāṣitam

Translation

Dies ist unvergleichlich an Reinheit; dies ist das Höchste zur Tilgung der Sünde. Diese heilige Erzählung von der Narmadā—dieses Māhātmya—wurde vom Muni verkündet.

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; here nominative ‘this’

• पवित्रम्: pure/holy
• पवित्रम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pavitra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; adjective agreeing with एतत्

• अतुलम्: incomparable
• अतुलम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: atula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; adjective

• हि: indeed/for
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle; emphasis/causal)

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; here nominative

• पापहरम्: sin-removing
• पापहरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa + hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; tatpuruṣa (पापं हरति)

• परम्: supreme
• परम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; superlative sense ‘supreme’

• नर्मदाचरितम्: the account/deeds of Narmadā
• नर्मदाचरितम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: narmadā (प्रातिपदिक) + carita (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; tatpuruṣa (नर्मदायाः चरितम्)

• पुण्यम्: meritorious/holy
• पुण्यम्: Kriya (Predicate complement/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; predicate adjective

• माहात्म्यम्: greatness; sacred glorification
• माहात्म्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; nominative singular

• मुनिभाषितम्: spoken by sages
• मुनिभाषितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + √bhāṣ (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP) ‘भाषित’, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; tatpuruṣa (मुनिना भाषितम्)

Speaker

Sūta (summarizing the Māhātmya as sage-spoken)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā / Narmadā Māhātmya (as a sanctifying corpus)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages/audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage proclaims the Narmadā-māhātmya; the river appears as a luminous goddess-river, washing away dark stains symbolizing pāpa, while listeners sit in reverent stillness.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā (Revā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Engaging with tīrtha-māhātmya—through hearing, remembering, and pilgrimage—purifies and removes pāpa, anchoring life in dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Narmadā (Revā) sacred tradition as a whole is glorified, rather than a single named ford.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse primarily extols the purifying power of the Narmadā Māhātmya itself.