Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

उत्तारणाय जन्तूनां नर्मदातटसंस्थितम् । एवमेतन्महातीर्थं नरकेश्वरमुत्तमम्

Transliteration

uttāraṇāya jantūnāṃ narmadātaṭasaṃsthitam | evametanmahātīrthaṃ narakeśvaramuttamam

Translation

Pour la délivrance des êtres vivants, voici le gué sacré établi sur la rive de la Narmadā. Ainsi ce Mahātīrtha suprême, Narakeśvara, est proclamé le meilleur.

Word by Word

• उत्तारणाय: for deliverance / for crossing over
• उत्तारणाय: Sampradana (Purpose/Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्तारण (प्रातिपदिक; √तॄ/तॄण्-तरणे इत्यस्मात् भाव/कर्मणि-नाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative/4th), एकवचन (Singular)

• जन्तूनाम्: of beings/creatures
• जन्तूनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्तु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• नर्मदा: of Narmadā
• नर्मदा: Sambandha (Genitive relation within compound)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषसमासे पूर्वपद (as first member in genitive tatpuruṣa)

• तट: bank
• तट: Adhikarana (Locative sense within compound: on the bank)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषसमासे उत्तरपद (as second member)

• संस्थितम्: situated on the bank of the Narmadā
• संस्थितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier of tīrtham)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-√स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular); समासः: नर्मदा-तट-सम्-स्थितम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable), प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of manner)

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Visheshya (Appositive/this [tīrtha])
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

• महातीर्थम्: the great sacred ford (great tīrtha)
• महातीर्थम्: Karma/Predicate nominal (Object or apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular); समासः: महत्+तीर्थम् (कर्मधारय)

• नरकेश्वरम्: Narakēśvara (Lord of Naraka)
• नरकेश्वरम्: Visheshya (Name/apposition of tīrtha)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक) + ईश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular); समासः: नरकस्य ईश्वरः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• उत्तमम्: supreme, excellent
• उत्तमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Unspecified (narratorial/teacher voice within Revākhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Narakeśvara Mahātīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene Narmadā riverbank with a Śiva-liṅga shrine labeled Narakeśvara; pilgrims arriving with waterpots, offering bilva leaves; the river glows as a ‘crossing’ from suffering to refuge.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā
• Narakeśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A divinely empowered tīrtha can become a means of ‘crossing over’ the consequences of sin and saṃsāra for embodied beings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Narakeśvara Mahātīrtha, located on the bank of the Narmadā River.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse implies pilgrimage to the site; typical tīrtha practice would include snāna (holy bath) and worship, though not explicitly stated here.