Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

विन्ध्यनिर्झरनिष्क्रान्ता पुण्यतोया सरिद्वरा । प्रविष्टा नर्मदातोये सर्वपापप्रणाशने

Transliteration

vindhyanirjharaniṣkrāntā puṇyatoyā saridvarā | praviṣṭā narmadātoye sarvapāpapraṇāśane

Translation

Un fleuve très excellent, jailli des cascades du Vindhya et rempli d’eaux saintes, entre dans les eaux de la Narmadā, qui détruit tous les péchés.

Word by Word

• विन्ध्यनिर्झरनिष्क्रान्ता: having issued forth from the Vindhya waterfall(s)
• विन्ध्यनिर्झरनिष्क्रान्ता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विन्ध्य + निर्झर + निष्क्रान्त (कृदन्त; √क्रम् धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त); समासः (विन्ध्यस्य निर्झरात् निष्क्रान्ता)

• पुण्यतोया: having holy waters
• पुण्यतोया: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य + तोय (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (पुण्यं तोयं यस्याः)

• सरिद्वरा: the excellent river
• सरिद्वरा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित् + वरा (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (वरा सरित्)

• प्रविष्टा: entered
• प्रविष्टा: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-विश् (कृदन्त; √विश् धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त); कर्तरि

• नर्मदातोये: into the waters of the Narmadā
• नर्मदातोये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा + तोय (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नर्मदायाः तोयम्)

• सर्वपापप्रणाशने: in (that which is) the destroyer of all sins
• सर्वपापप्रणाशने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + पाप + प्रणाशन (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (प्रणाशन-शब्दः नपुंसकः प्रायः), सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (सर्वेषां पापानां प्रणाशने)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced: Āvantya Khaṇḍa narrative frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Saṅgama (confluence) with Narmadā (Revā)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpaśreṣṭha (best of kings)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bright tributary cascades from Vindhya falls, winding through forest, then merges into the broad Narmadā; the confluence glows with sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Vindhya
• Narmadā
• Revā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy rivers and their confluences are portrayed as potent purifiers, with the Narmadā especially praised as a destroyer of sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A saṅgama (confluence) where a Vindhya-born river meets the Narmadā, within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, pilgrimage and sacred bathing at the Narmadā’s purifying waters, especially at a confluence.