Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

उभयोः कूलयोस्तावन्मण्डितायतनैः शुभैः । हूयद्भिरग्निहोत्रैश्च हविर्धूमसमाकुला

Transliteration

ubhayoḥ kūlayostāvanmaṇḍitāyatanaiḥ śubhaiḥ | hūyadbhiragnihotraiśca havirdhūmasamākulā

Translation

Ses deux rives étaient ornées de sanctuaires propices, et remplies de la fumée des offrandes, tandis que brûlaient les feux d’Agnihotra et que l’on versait les oblations.

Word by Word

• ubhayoḥ: of both
• ubhayoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ubhaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, द्विवचन (Dual); विशेषण

• kūlayoḥ: of the two banks
• kūlayoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kūla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, द्विवचन

• tāvat: so long/so far
• tāvat: Sambandha (Extent/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण-अव्यय (so much/so far; correlating with yāvat)

• maṇḍita-āyatanaiḥ: with adorned shrines/abodes
• maṇḍita-āyatanaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: maṇḍita (कृदन्त; √मण्ड्) + āyatana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय: ‘मण्डितानि आयतनानि’

• śubhaiḥ: auspicious, splendid
• śubhaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• hūyadbhiḥ: being offered (performed)
• hūyadbhiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: hūyamāna (कृदन्त; √हु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि कृदन्त (present passive participle) ‘हूयत्’ = ‘being offered’

• agni-hotraiḥ: with agnihotra sacrifices
• agni-hotraiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agni (प्रातिपदिक) + hotra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष: ‘अग्नौ होतृकर्म’ (agnihotra rites)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (and)

• havis-dhūma-samākulā: filled with the smoke of oblations
• havis-dhūma-samākulā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: havis (प्रातिपदिक) + dhūma (प्रातिपदिक) + samākula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (instrumental sense): ‘हविषां धूमेन समाकुला’ (filled with smoke of oblations)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā/Narmadā riverbanks (ubhayakūla)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Twin riverbanks crowded with small shrines and yajña-śālās; multiple Agnihotra fires sending curling smoke; priests pouring oblations; the river reflecting firelight and temple lamps.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā
• Agnihotra
• Havis (oblations)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha becomes radiant through sustained dharma—temples, Vedic fires, and continuous worship sanctify the landscape.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The sacred banks of the Narmadā (Revā), portrayed as lined with shrines and ritual fires.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Agnihotra (daily Vedic oblation into the sacred fire) is explicitly referenced.