Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

एवमेता महानद्यस्तिस्रो रुद्रसमुद्भवाः । एका एव त्रिधा भूता गङ्गा रेवा सरस्वती

Transliteration

evametā mahānadyastisro rudrasamudbhavāḥ | ekā eva tridhā bhūtā gaṅgā revā sarasvatī

Translation

So sind diese drei großen Ströme aus Rudra hervorgegangen: wahrhaft eins, wurden sie dreifach als Gaṅgā, Revā (Narmadā) und Sarasvatī.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• एताः: these
• एताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• महानद्यः: great rivers
• महानद्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (महानद्यः = महत्यः नद्यः), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• तिस्रः: three
• तिस्रः: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक (numeral), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• रुद्रसमुद्भवाः: arisen from Rudra
• रुद्रसमुद्भवाः: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रुद्र + समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (रुद्रात् समुद्भवाः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• एका: one
• एका: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक (numeral), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• एव: indeed/only
• एव: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अवधारण (emphasis/only)

• त्रिधा: in three forms/ways
• त्रिधा: Adverbial (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: त्रिधा (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण/प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: in three ways)

• भूता: become
• भूता: Karta-viśeṣaṇa (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भू (धातु; क्त-प्रत्यय, कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• गङ्गा: Ganga
• गङ्गा: Apposition (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• रेवा: Reva (Narmada)
• रेवा: Apposition (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रेवा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• सरस्वती: Sarasvati
• सरस्वती: Apposition (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā–Revā–Sarasvatī (mahānadī-traya)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rudra as cosmic source; from his presence emanates a single luminous stream that divides into three river goddesses labeled Gaṅgā, Revā, Sarasvatī, flowing to different landscapes.

Characters & Entities

• Rudra (Śiva)
• Gaṅgā
• Revā (Narmadā)
• Sarasvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

All sacred streams share one divine source; reverence to any holy river is reverence to the same sanctifying power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Revā (Narmadā) is explicitly glorified alongside Gaṅgā and Sarasvatī as a Rudra-born mahānadī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription, but the verse supports tirtha-sevā: pilgrimage, snāna, and worship on these rivers’ banks.