Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

मार्कण्डेय उवाच । श्रुत्वेति शम्भुवचसा स षडाननोऽथ नत्वा पितुः पदयुगाम्बुजमादरेण । सम्प्राप्य दक्षिणतटं गिरिशस्रवन्त्याः कीशाग्र्यरामकलशाख्यशिवान् ददर्श

Transliteration

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca | śrutveti śambhuvacasā sa ṣaḍānano'tha natvā pituḥ padayugāmbujamādareṇa | samprāpya dakṣiṇataṭaṃ giriśasravantyāḥ kīśāgryarāmakalaśākhyaśivān dadarśa

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya sprach: Nachdem er so die Worte Śambhus vernommen hatte, verneigte sich der Sechsgesichtige ehrfürchtig vor dem lotusgleichen Paar der Füße seines Vaters. Als er das Südufer des Flusses namens Giriśasravantī erreichte, erblickte er die Śivas, die Kīśāgrya, Rāma und Kalaśa genannt werden.

Word by Word

• mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Mārkaṇḍeya
• mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārkaṇḍeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• śrutvā: having heard
• śrutvā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (prior action)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्य-समाप्ति सूचक अव्यय (quotative particle)

• śambhu-vacasā: by Śambhu’s words
• śambhu-vacasā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śambhu (प्रातिपदिक) + vacas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (śambhoḥ vacasā = by Śambhu's words)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• ṣaḍ-ānanaḥ: the six-faced one (Skanda)
• ṣaḍ-ānanaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṭ (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + ānana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (six-faced)

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक अव्यय (then/thereupon)

• natvā: having bowed
• natvā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nam (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• pituḥ: of (his) father
• pituḥ: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• pada-yuga-ambujam: the lotus-like pair of feet
• pada-yuga-ambujam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pada (प्रातिपदिक) + yuga (प्रातिपदिक) + ambuja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-भावार्थक तत्पुरुष (pada-yugam iva ambujam = lotus-like pair of feet)

• ādareṇa: with reverence
• ādareṇa: Karana (Manner/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ādara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

• samprāpya: having reached
• samprāpya: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-āp (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund/Absolutive) with उपसर्ग sam+pra; पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• dakṣiṇa-taṭam: the southern bank
• dakṣiṇa-taṭam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣiṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + taṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (southern bank)

• giriśa-sravantyāḥ: of Girīśa’s river (Narmadā)
• giriśa-sravantyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: giriśa (प्रातिपदिक) + sravantī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (giriśasya sravantī = Girīśa’s river/stream)

• kīśāgrya-rāma-kalaśākhya-śivān: the Śivas named Kīśāgrya, Rāma, and Kalaśākhya
• kīśāgrya-rāma-kalaśākhya-śivān: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kīśāgrya (प्रातिपदिक) + rāma (प्रातिपदिक) + kalaśākhya (प्रातिपदिक) + śiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), बहुवचन (Plural); समाहार/इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (list of named Śivas)

• dadarśa: saw
• dadarśa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Giriśasravantī-tīra (with Kīśāgrya–Rāma–Kalaśa Śiva-darśana)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: (King) Yudhiṣṭhira (implied broader frame of the dialogue)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Skanda (Ṣaḍānana) bows at Śiva’s lotus-feet, then journeys to a river’s southern bank where three distinct Śiva-presences (as liṅgas or shrine-forms) are revealed in a sacred grove/riverine landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Śambhu (Śiva)
• Ṣaḍānana (Skanda/Kārttikeya)
• Giriśasravantī (river)
• Kīśāgrya (Śiva)
• Rāma (Śiva)
• Kalaśa (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Reverence to the divine father and pilgrimage to river-banks lead to sacred darśana of multiple Śiva manifestations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The southern bank of the river Giriśasravantī, associated with Śivas named Kīśāgrya, Rāma, and Kalaśa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicit devotional conduct is shown: bowing in reverence and undertaking a journey to the tīrtha-bank.