Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

त्रिकूटी तेन विख्याता पितॄणां त्रायणी परा । द्वितीयाच्च ततो गङ्गा विस्तीर्णा धरणीतले

Transliteration

trikūṭī tena vikhyātā pitṝṇāṃ trāyaṇī parā | dvitīyācca tato gaṅgā vistīrṇā dharaṇītale

Translation

Darum ist sie als «Trikūṭī» berühmt, die höchste Erlöserin der Ahnen. Und vom zweiten Gipfel breitete sich dann die Gaṅgā über die Erdfläche aus.

Word by Word

• त्रिकूटी: Trikūṭī
• त्रिकूटी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिकूटी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — proper name/river-name sense

• तेन: thereby; by that
• तेन: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन — instrumental ‘by that/therefore’

• विख्याता: renowned
• विख्याता: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + √ख्या (धातु) → विख्यात (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — क्त; ‘renowned’ (qualifies त्रिकूटी)

• पितॄणाम्: of the ancestors (Pitṛs)
• पितॄणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन — genitive ‘of the fathers/manes’

• त्रायणी: protector; saviour
• त्रायणी: Karta (Appositional subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रायणी (प्रातिपदिक; from √त्रा ‘to protect’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘protector/saviour’ (apposition to त्रिकूटी)

• परा: supreme
• परा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘supreme’ (qualifies त्रायणी/त्रिकूटी)

• द्वितीयात्: from the second
• द्वितीयात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वितीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन — ablative ‘from the second (peak/source)’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय) — ‘and’

• ततः: then; from there
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘then/from there’

• गङ्गा: Gaṅgā
• गङ्गा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — subject

• विस्तीर्णा: spread out; expanded
• विस्तीर्णा: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √स्तॄ/स्तृ (धातु) → विस्तीर्ण (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — क्त; ‘spread out’ (qualifies गङ्गा)

• धरणीतले: on the earth’s surface
• धरणीतले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरणी + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — locative ‘on the surface of the earth’

Speaker

Narrator (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Trikūṭī

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tri-peaked sacred mountain revered for saving ancestors; from its second peak the Gaṅgā emerges and spreads across the earth, while sages perform tarpaṇa with cupped hands.

Characters & Entities

• Trikūṭī
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Gaṅgā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are portrayed as instruments of pitṛ-uplift (ancestral welfare), linking geography with dharma and gratitude.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Trikūṭī (as pitṛ-trāṇī) and the Gaṅgā’s sacred spread—both situated within a Purāṇic sacred-geography account.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied pitṛ-oriented rites (e.g., tarpaṇa/śrāddha) by calling the place ‘pitṝṇāṃ trāyaṇī’, though not stated as a direct injunction.