Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

अनेकभूतौघसुसेविताङ्गे गन्धर्वयक्षोरगपाविताङ्गे । महागजौघैर्महिषैर्वराहैरापीयसे तोयमहोर्मिमाले

Transliteration

anekabhūtaughasusevitāṅge gandharvayakṣoragapāvitāṅge | mahāgajaughairmahiṣairvarāhairāpīyase toyamahormimāle

Translation

O du, deren Leib von Scharen von Wesen ehrfürchtig bedient wird, deren Gestalt von Gandharvas, Yakṣas und Nāgas geheiligt ist. Große Herden von Elefanten, Büffeln und Ebern trinken dein Wasser; wahrlich wunderbar ist dein Kranz aus Wellen.

Word by Word

• aneka-bhūta-ogha-su-sevita-aṅge: O you whose limbs are well attended by hosts of many beings
• aneka-bhūta-ogha-su-sevita-aṅge: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aneka (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūta (प्रातिपदिक) + ogha (प्रातिपदिक) + su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + sevita (सेव् धातोः क्त) + aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; बहुपद-समासः—'whose limbs are well-served by multitudes of beings' (aṅge = 'in/with limbs' as vocative epithet)

• gandharva-yakṣa-oraga-pāvita-aṅge: O you whose limbs are purified by Gandharvas, Yakṣas, and serpents
• gandharva-yakṣa-oraga-pāvita-aṅge: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gandharva (प्रातिपदिक) + yakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + uraga/oraga (प्रातिपदिक) + pāvita (पू धातोः क्त) + aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; 'whose limbs are purified by Gandharvas, Yakṣas, and serpents'

• mahā-gaja-oghaiḥ: by hosts of great elephants
• mahā-gaja-oghaiḥ: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + gaja (प्रातिपदिक) + ogha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/instrumental) बहुवचन; 'by hosts of great elephants'

• mahiṣaiḥ: by buffaloes
• mahiṣaiḥ: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahiṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया बहुवचन; 'by buffaloes'

• varāhaiḥ: by boars
• varāhaiḥ: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varāha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया बहुवचन; 'by boars'

• āpīyase: you are drunk/imbibed
• āpīyase: Kriya (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā + pī (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; 2nd person singular: 'you are drunk/imbibed' (i.e., drunk from)

• toyam: water
• toyam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: toya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/accusative) एकवचन; object of drinking

• aho-urmi-māle: O garland of waves
• aho-urmi-māle: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aho (अव्यय/उद्गार) + ūrmi (प्रातिपदिक) + mālā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; 'O garland of waves' with emphatic 'aho' in compound per text-tradition

Speaker

Devotees/dvijas continuing the stuti to Revā

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A broad river with a ‘garland’ of foaming waves; on the banks and in the shallows, elephants, buffaloes, and boars drink; above and around, subtle forms of Gandharvas, Yakṣas, and Nāgas appear as luminous attendants blessing the waters.

Characters & Entities

• Revā (Narmadā)
• Gandharvas
• Yakṣas
• Uraga/Nāgas
• Elephants
• Buffaloes
• Boars

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha’s holiness embraces all realms—humans, semi-divine beings, and animals—signaling a cosmic sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Revā/Narmadā, envisioned as a living goddess whose waves and banks are inhabited by sacred presences.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse emphasizes darśana and praise, highlighting the river as universally sustaining and sanctifying.