Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 69

Devanagari script

योऽर्चयेन्नर्मदेशानं यतिर्वै संजितेन्द्रियः । स्नात्वा चैव महादेवमश्वमेधफलं लभेत्

Transliteration

yo'rcayennarmadeśānaṃ yatirvai saṃjitendriyaḥ | snātvā caiva mahādevamaśvamedhaphalaṃ labhet

Translation

Der entsagende Asket, der seine Sinne bezwungen hat und Narmadeśāna verehrt, dort badet und Mahādeva anbetet, erlangt Verdienst, das der Frucht des Aśvamedha gleichkommt.

Word by Word

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (relative pronoun; masc., nominative singular)

• अर्चयेत्: should worship
• अर्चयेत्: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद (3rd person singular optative)

• नर्मदेशानम्: Narmadeśāna (Lord of Narmadā)
• नर्मदेशानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा + ईशान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (नर्मदायाः ईशानः) (masc., accusative singular)

• यतिः: an ascetic
• यतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (masc., nominative singular)

• वै: indeed
• वै: Emphasis (Nipāta)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic particle)

• संजितेन्द्रियः: one who has conquered his senses
• संजितेन्द्रियः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + जि (धातु) → संजित (कृदन्त) + इन्द्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुव्रीहि (संजितानि इन्द्रियाणि यस्य सः) (masc., nominative singular)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having bathed)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Emphasis (Avadhāraṇa)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक निपात (emphasis)

• महादेवम्: Mahādeva (Śiva)
• महादेवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (महान् देवः) (masc., accusative singular)

• अश्वमेधफलम्: the fruit of the Aśvamedha sacrifice
• अश्वमेधफलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वमेध + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (अश्वमेधस्य फलम्) (neuter, accusative singular)

• लभेत्: would obtain
• लभेत्: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद (3rd person singular optative)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Revā Khaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Narmadeśāna/Narmadeśvara tirtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pāṇḍava (addressed in adjacent verse; implied continuity)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A renunciant (yati) with calm, restrained demeanor performs snāna in Narmadā, then offers worship to a riverbank liṅga; subtle imagery of aśvamedha (horse-sacrifice) appears as symbolic aura or distant vignette to show equivalence of merit.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadeśāna
• Mahādeva
• Aśvamedha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sincere worship with sense-restraint, performed at a sanctified tīrtha, can confer vast merit—comparable to major Vedic sacrifices.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Narmadeśvara/Narmadeśāna on the Narmadā riverbank, as praised in the Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tīrtha-snānā (sacred bathing) followed by Śiva-pūjā (worship of Mahādeva) at Narmadeśvara.