Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । नास्ति लोकेषु तत्तीर्थं पृथिव्यां यन्नरेश्वर । शुक्लतीर्थेन सदृशमुपमानेन गीयते

Transliteration

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | nāsti lokeṣu tattīrthaṃ pṛthivyāṃ yannareśvara | śuklatīrthena sadṛśamupamānena gīyate

Translation

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya dit : Ô seigneur des hommes, il n’est dans les mondes, ni sur la terre entière, aucun tīrtha que l’on chante comme comparable—par quelque mesure que ce soit—à Śuklatīrtha.

Word by Word

• śrī-mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: the venerable Mārkaṇḍeya
• śrī-mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī (प्रातिपदिक) + mārkaṇḍeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (श्रीमान् मार्कण्डेयः)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

• asti: exists
• asti: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद; नकारेण निषिद्धम्

• lokeṣu: in the worlds
• lokeṣu: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• tat-tīrtham: that sacred ford
• tat-tīrtham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (तत् तीर्थम् = that tīrtha)

• pṛthivyām: on the earth
• pṛthivyām: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛthivī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• yat: which
• yat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धः—यत् (relative)

• nara-īśvara: O lord of men (king)
• nara-īśvara: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (vocative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (नराणाम् ईश्वरः)

• śukla-tīrthena: with/by Śukla-tīrtha
• śukla-tīrthena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śukla (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण/साधन), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (शुक्लं नाम तीर्थम्)

• sadṛśam: similar/equal
• sadṛśam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sadṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; "तत्तीर्थम्" इति विशेषणम्

• upamānena: by comparison/analogy
• upamānena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: upamāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• gīyate: is sung/celebrated
• gīyate: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gai (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (passive)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śuklatīrtha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (nareśvara)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya, radiant and authoritative, proclaims to a king that no tīrtha equals Śuklatīrtha; the riverbank appears luminous, suggesting the tīrtha’s unmatched sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Śuklatīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Certain tīrthas are celebrated as uniquely transformative; Śuklatīrtha is proclaimed unsurpassed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śuklatīrtha (a major Narmadā tīrtha) is explicitly praised as incomparable.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite in this verse; it is a declarative eulogy establishing the tīrtha’s supremacy.