Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 115

Devanagari script

वेदस्मृतिमुखा नद्यः पारियात्रोद्भवा मताः । नर्मदासरसाद्याश्च नद्यो विंध्याद्विनिर्गताः

Transliteration

vedasmṛtimukhā nadyaḥ pāriyātrodbhavā matāḥ | narmadāsarasādyāśca nadyo viṃdhyādvinirgatāḥ

Translation

The rivers Vedasmṛti and Mukhā are held to arise from the Pāriyātra range. And rivers such as the Narmadā and the Sarasā are said to flow forth from the Vindhya.

Word by Word

• वेदस्मृतिमुखाः: having the Vedas and Smṛtis as their sources/mouths
• वेदस्मृतिमुखाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वेद + स्मृति + मुख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (नद्यः इति)

• नद्यः: rivers
• नद्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• पारियात्रोद्भवाः: arising from (mount) Pāriyātra
• पारियात्रोद्भवाः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पारियात्र + उद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (नद्यः इति)

• मताः: are considered
• मताः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa / Predicative qualifier
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मन् (धातु) + त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘considered/held to be’

• नर्मदासरसाद्याः: Narmadā, Sarasā, and others
• नर्मदासरसाद्याः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नर्मदा + सरसा + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (नद्यः/नद्यः इति)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• नद्यः: rivers
• नद्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• विंध्यात्: from the Vindhya (mountain)
• विंध्यात्: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विंध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; अपादान (source)

• विनिर्गताः: have emerged
• विनिर्गताः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa / Predicative qualifier
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि + निर् + गम् (धातु) + त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; ‘gone forth/emerged’

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative frame

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Narmadā (implied among listed rivers)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stylized map-like tableau: Vindhya and Pāriyātra as personified mountains, from whose flanks emerge luminous river-goddesses carrying kalaśas; Narmadā shown flowing westward with śaiva emblems on her banks.

Characters & Entities

• Pāriyātra
• Vindhya
• Vedasmṛti (river)
• Mukhā (river)
• Narmadā
• Sarasā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Rivers and mountains are treated as sacred manifestations; their origins are remembered as part of dharma and tīrtha-oriented culture.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse highlights sacred mountain sources—Pāriyātra and Vindhya—by naming the rivers that arise from them.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse provides sacred provenance (utpatti) of rivers.