Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 76

Devanagari script

नानावर्णारुणं शुभ्रं वस्त्राद्यद्वारि निःसृतम् । पीड्यमानं करैः शुभ्रैस्तैस्तु पल्लवकोमलैः

Transliteration

nānāvarṇāruṇaṃ śubhraṃ vastrādyadvāri niḥsṛtam | pīḍyamānaṃ karaiḥ śubhraistaistu pallavakomalaiḥ

Translation

The water that issued from the cloth appeared in many hues—ruddy and bright. It was being wrung out by fair hands, tender like fresh sprouts.

Word by Word

• nānāvarṇa-aruṇam: reddish with many colors
• nānāvarṇa-aruṇam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nānā (अव्यय) + varṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + aruṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयसमास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'reddish with various colors'

• śubhram: white, bright
• śubhram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubhra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• vastrāt: from the cloth
• vastrāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vastra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (अपादान), एकवचन

• yat: which
• yat: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक

• vāri: water
• vāri: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• niḥsṛtam: flowed out
• niḥsṛtam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nis + √sṛ (धातु) + -ta (क्त)
• Form: उपसर्ग (निः) + कृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'having flowed out'

• pīḍyamānam: being pressed
• pīḍyamānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √pīḍ (धातु) + शानच् (शतृ/लट्-कर्तरि)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शानच्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे 'being pressed'

• karaiḥ: by hands
• karaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन

• śubhraiḥ: white
• śubhraiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubhra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; 'white/bright'

• taiḥ: by those
• taiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन

• tu: indeed, but
• tu: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• pallava-komalaiḥ: sprout-tender, very soft
• pallava-komalaiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pallava (प्रातिपदिक) + komala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारयसमास; पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन; 'tender like sprouts'

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapilā

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A white cloth is being gently wrung; from it streams water shimmering in red-gold and bright white tones; tender, sprout-soft hands hold the cloth; the scene feels ritually pure and luminous.

Characters & Entities

• Anucarī (implied attendants)
• Devī (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic tīrtha narratives sanctify nature through divine aesthetics, making the landscape a field of devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The arising of Kapilā’s sacred waters is being poetically depicted.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it functions as a glorification (māhātmya) of the water’s auspicious character.