Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

आश्रित्य नर्मदातोये मणिनागोत्तमो नृप । तपश्चचार विपुलमुत्तरे नर्मदातटे

Transliteration

āśritya narmadātoye maṇināgottamo nṛpa | tapaścacāra vipulamuttare narmadātaṭe

Translation

O König, der erhabenste Maṇināga nahm Zuflucht in den Wassern der Narmadā und übte reiche Askese am nördlichen Ufer der Narmadā.

Word by Word

• आश्रित्य: having taken refuge in
• आश्रित्य: Sambandha (Adverbial/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आ-श्रि (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त; अव्ययीभावार्थ)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यबन्त-अव्ययम् (gerund/absolutive): ‘having resorted to’

• नर्मदातोये: in the waters of the Narmadā
• नर्मदातोये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक) + तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नर्मदायाः तोयम्); नपुंसकलिङ्गः, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचनम्

• मणिनागोत्तमः: the best of the jewel-serpents (Nāgas)
• मणिनागोत्तमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मणि (प्रातिपदिक) + नाग (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषः (मणिनागानाम् उत्तमः); पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचनम्

• नृप: O king
• नृप: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचनम्

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचनम्; कर्म

• चचार: performed / practiced
• चचार: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), एकवचनम्, परस्मैपदम्

• विपुलम्: abundant, great
• विपुलम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विपुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचनम्; तपः-विशेषणम्

• उत्तरे: on the northern
• उत्तरे: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचनम्; नर्मदातटे इति पदस्य विशेषणम्

• नर्मदातटे: on the bank of the Narmadā
• नर्मदातटे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक) + तट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नर्मदायाः तटः); पुंलिङ्गः, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचनम्

Speaker

Narrator addressing a King (nṛpa) (contextual; not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpa (King)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Maṇināga, a noble serpent-king, emerges near the Narmadā’s clear current; he settles on the northern bank amid kusa grass and riverine trees, beginning severe austerities with focused stillness.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā (Revā)
• Maṇināga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Narmadā’s banks are portrayed as a powerful setting for tapas, where fear and suffering can be transformed into spiritual discipline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā/Narmadā riverbank—specifically the northern bank—is highlighted as a sanctified locus for austerity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas (austerity) on the Narmadā’s bank is indicated; no detailed vrata mechanics are specified in this verse.