Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

तत्र तीर्थे तु यः स्नात्वा वीक्षते मधुसूदनम् । मुच्यते सर्वपापेभ्यो दशजन्मानुकीर्तनात्

Transliteration

tatra tīrthe tu yaḥ snātvā vīkṣate madhusūdanam | mucyate sarvapāpebhyo daśajanmānukīrtanāt

Translation

Celui qui se baigne en ce tīrtha et contemple Madhusūdana est délivré de tous les péchés, même de ceux amassés et rappelés au fil de dix naissances.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण/adverb of place)

• तीर्थे: at the sacred ford/place of pilgrimage
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• तु: indeed/and
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle; emphasis/contrast)

• यः: who (he who)
• यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक (relative pronoun)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive), पूर्वक्रिया; धातु: स्ना (स्नान)

• वीक्षते: sees/beholds
• वीक्षते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वीक्ष् (धातु)
• Form: लट् लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• मधुसूदनम्: Madhusūdana (Vishnu/Krishna)
• मधुसूदनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मधु + सूदन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (मधोः सूदनः)

• मुच्यते: is freed
• मुच्यते: Kriya (Result action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive), आत्मनेपद

• सर्वपापेभ्यः: from all sins
• सर्वपापेभ्यः: Apadana (Source/Separation/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी विभक्ति (5th/Ablative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय (सर्वाणि पापानि)

• दशजन्मानुकीर्तनात्: because of the recounting of ten births (incarnations)
• दशजन्मानुकीर्तनात्: Hetu (Cause/Reason/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दश + जन्म + अनुकीर्तन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी विभक्ति (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; समास: (दशजन्म) षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/द्विगु-सदृश + अनुकीर्तन (तत्पुरुष: दशजन्मानाम् अनुकीर्तनम्)

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (context continues)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (Madhusūdana-darśana tīrtha)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage audience; within the broader dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira and a brāhmaṇa-sage appear in adjacent verses

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims descend stone steps to the Revā, perform snāna at dawn; across the ghat stands a Madhusūdana (Viṣṇu) shrine where devotees offer flowers and lamps, suggesting sin-release across lifetimes.

Characters & Entities

• Madhusūdana (Viṣṇu)
• Narmadā (Revā)
• Jayavārāha Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual purity (snāna) joined with devotional vision (darśana) is portrayed as profoundly transformative, dissolving long-standing karmic burdens.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrtha at Jayavārāha on the Narmadā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) at the tīrtha and darśana (beholding) of Madhusūdana.