Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

आश्वयुक्शुक्लनवमी तत्र तीर्थे विशिष्यते । दिनत्रयं तु राजेन्द्र सप्तम्यादिविशेषतः

Transliteration

āśvayukśuklanavamī tatra tīrthe viśiṣyate | dinatrayaṃ tu rājendra saptamyādiviśeṣataḥ

Translation

En ce tīrtha, le neuvième jour de la quinzaine claire d’Āśvayuja est tout particulièrement éminent ; en vérité, ô roi, une observance de trois jours—à partir du septième—y est tenue pour très distinguée.

Word by Word

• āśvayuk-śukla-navamī: the ninth (tithi) of the bright fortnight in Āśvayuja
• āśvayuk-śukla-navamī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āśvayuk (प्रातिपदिक) + śukla (प्रातिपदिक) + navamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (āśvayuka-māsa-sambandha) + कर्मधारयः (śuklā navamī)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• tīrthe: at the sacred ford/place
• tīrthe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• viśiṣyate: is especially distinguished/excels
• viśiṣyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-śiṣ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• dinatrayam: a period of three days
• dinatrayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dina (प्रातिपदिक) + traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (three days)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic/contrastive particle)

• rājendra: O best of kings
• rājendra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (rājñām indraḥ)

• saptamy-ādi-viśeṣataḥ: especially due to the distinction beginning with the seventh (tithi)
• saptamy-ādi-viśeṣataḥ: Hetu/Prayojana (Reason/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saptamī (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + viśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (तसिल्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ablatival adverb: 'from/according to distinction'); समासः—तत्पुरुषः (saptamyādayaḥ viśeṣāḥ)

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator (likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing a King

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (specific sub-tīrtha not named in verse)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (rājendra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A Narmadā riverbank tīrtha at dawn; pilgrims arriving with water-pots, preparing for a three-day observance; a king listening to a sage who points to the lunar calendar (navamī) as especially potent.

Characters & Entities

• Vidhautapāpa Tīrtha
• Narmadā
• Āśvayuja (month)
• Śukla Navamī
• Saptamī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred time amplifies sacred place—specific tithis intensify the tīrtha’s fruit for seekers.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vidhautapāpa tīrtha on the Narmadā, with special merit in Āśvayuja bright fortnight.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A special three-day religious observance centered on Saptamī–Navamī, highlighting Śukla Navamī.