Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

इति कथितमिदं ते शूलभेदस्य पुण्यं महिमन हि मनुष्यैः श्रूयते यत्सपापैः । मदनरिपुतटिन्या याम्यकूलस्थितस्य प्रबलदुरितकन्दोच्छेदकुद्दालकल्पम्

Transliteration

iti kathitamidaṃ te śūlabhedasya puṇyaṃ mahimana hi manuṣyaiḥ śrūyate yatsapāpaiḥ | madanariputaṭinyā yāmyakūlasthitasya prabaladuritakandocchedakuddālakalpam

Translation

So ist dir das heilige Verdienst und die Größe von Śūlabheda dargelegt worden – etwas, das selbst von Sündenbeladenen gehört werden kann. Am Südufer des Flusses des Feindes von Madana (Śivas heiliger Revā) gelegen, gleicht es einer Hacke, die die mächtigen Wurzelknoten der Sünde ausreißt.

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इत्यादि-निर्देशक (quotative particle)

• kathitam: told/related
• kathitam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa/Predicative (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kath (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त) past participle; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; predicate ‘told’

• idam: this
• idam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• te: to you
• te: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी, एकवचन; enclitic pronoun; here dative ‘to you’

• śūla-bhedasya: of the piercing/splitting by the trident
• śūla-bhedasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūla (प्रातिपदिक) + bheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (śūlasya bhedaḥ)

• puṇyam: merit; holy (account)
• puṇyam: Karma/Predicative (कर्म/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• mahiman: O great one
• mahiman: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahiman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• manuṣyaiḥ: by men
• manuṣyaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manuṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; instrumental

• śrūyate: is heard
• śrūyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• yat: which
• yat: Karma/Anvaya (अन्वय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; relative pronoun referring to ‘idam/puṇyam’

• sa-pāpaiḥ: by the sinful (people)
• sa-pāpaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sa (उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (सह-पापैः = with sins; ‘sinful’)

• madana-ripu-taṭinyā: by/with the river of the foe of Kāma (i.e., Gaṅgā)
• madana-ripu-taṭinyā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madana (प्रातिपदिक) + ripu (प्रातिपदिक) + taṭinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (madanasya ripuḥ = Śiva; tasya taṭinī = river)

• yāmya-kūla-sthitasya: of (him/that) situated on the southern bank
• yāmya-kūla-sthitasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yāmya (प्रातिपदिक) + kūla (प्रातिपदिक) + sthita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (yāmye kūle sthitaḥ)

• prabala-durita-kanda-ucchheda-kuddāla-kalpam: like a spade that uproots the root of mighty sin
• prabala-durita-kanda-ucchheda-kuddāla-kalpam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prabala (प्रातिपदिक) + durita (प्रातिपदिक) + kanda (प्रातिपदिक) + ucchheda (प्रातिपदिक) + kuddāla (प्रातिपदिक) + kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः—‘prabala-durita-kanda’ (strong-sin-root) + ‘ucchheda-kuddāla’ (spade for uprooting) + ‘kalpa’ (like)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śūlabheda

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: नृप (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Revā river flowing; on its southern bank stands the Śūlabheda tīrtha-marker/linga-shrine; Śiva’s presence is implied; a symbolic mattock strikes the earth, uprooting dark root-knots labeled ‘pāpa’.

Characters & Entities

• Śūlabheda (tīrtha)
• Madana-ripu (Śiva)
• Revā (Narmadā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s greatness is measured by its power to cut the root of sin; even those burdened with wrongdoing are invited to hear and be transformed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śūlabheda-tīrtha, described as being on the southern bank of the Revā (Narmadā).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa (hearing) of the māhātmya is explicitly praised; the tīrtha is also characterized as pāpa-nāśaka (sin-destroying), implying pilgrimage and worship there.