Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

तत्र चाह्वानिता गङ्गा ब्रह्माद्यैरखिलैः सुरैः । अभ्यर्च्येशं जगन्नाथं देवदेवं जगद्गुरुम्

Transliteration

tatra cāhvānitā gaṅgā brahmādyairakhilaiḥ suraiḥ | abhyarcyeśaṃ jagannāthaṃ devadevaṃ jagadgurum

Translation

Dort wurde Gaṅgā von allen Göttern unter Brahmā angerufen, nachdem sie Īśa verehrt hatten—den Herrn des Alls, den Gott der Götter, den Guru der Welt.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (locative adverb)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• आह्वानिता: was invoked/called
• आह्वानिता: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-ह्वा (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past Passive Participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि

• गङ्गा: Gaṅgā
• गङ्गा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ब्रह्माद्यैः: by Brahmā and others
• ब्रह्माद्यैः: Karana (Agent/Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्मा आदिः येषाम्)

• अखिलैः: all, entire
• अखिलैः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अखिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण (qualifying सुरैः)

• सुरैः: by the gods
• सुरैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• अभ्यर्च्य: having worshipped
• अभ्यर्च्य: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-अर्च् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive); पूर्वकालिक-क्रिया

• ईशम्: the Lord (Śiva)
• ईशम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जगन्नाथम्: Lord of the world
• जगन्नाथम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक) + नाथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जगतः नाथः)

• देवदेवम्: God of gods
• देवदेवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (देवानां देवः)

• जगद्गुरुम्: teacher of the world
• जगद्गुरुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक) + गुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जगतः गुरुः)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (invoked) / Vindhya summit (ritual locus)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King

Visual Art Cues

Scene: On the mountain summit, Brahmā and all the gods perform elaborate worship of Īśa—Lord of the universe—then ritually invoke Gaṅgā to appear.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Brahmā
• Suras (Devas)
• Īśa
• Jagannātha
• Devadeva
• Jagadguru

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the gods approach world-benefiting works through worship: divine grace and right order begin with honoring Īśa.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The scene is set at Vindhya’s summit within the Revā Khaṇḍa narrative, leading into the sanctification of the associated tīrtha tradition.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Worship (abhyarcana) of Śiva precedes the invocation (āhvāna) of Gaṅgā—an implied ritual sequence of reverence before sacred action.