Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

नदीं कामगमां पुण्यां झषमीनसमाकुलाम् । नद्यास्तस्यास्तु मध्यस्था प्रमदा कामरूपिणी

Transliteration

nadīṃ kāmagamāṃ puṇyāṃ jhaṣamīnasamākulām | nadyāstasyāstu madhyasthā pramadā kāmarūpiṇī

Translation

Je contemplai une rivière sainte, qui s’écoulait selon le désir, foisonnante de poissons ; et au cœur même de cette rivière se tenait une jeune fille, capable de prendre des formes à volonté.

Word by Word

• nadīm: a river
• nadīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nadī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• kāma-gamām: moving as one wishes
• kāma-gamām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक) + gama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (कामेन गम्यते/कामं गच्छति) = going as desired; विशेषणम् (नदीम्)

• puṇyām: holy
• puṇyām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• jhaṣa-mīna-samākulām: filled with fish
• jhaṣa-mīna-samākulām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jhaṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + mīna (प्रातिपदिक) + samākula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (झषैः मीनैश्च समाकुला) = teeming with fish; विशेषणम्

• nadyāḥ: of the river
• nadyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nadī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• tasyāḥ: of that (river)
• tasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) = particle; अर्थे: तु/खलु (but/indeed)

• madhya-sthā: standing in the middle
• madhya-sthā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: madhya (प्रातिपदिक) + sthā (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √sthā)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (मध्ये स्थिता) = situated in the middle; विशेषणम् (प्रमदा)

• pramadā: a woman/maiden
• pramadā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pramadā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kāma-rūpiṇī: shape-shifting at will
• kāma-rūpiṇī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक) + rūpinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (कामेन रूपं यस्याः/यथाकामरूपा) = able to assume forms at will; विशेषणम् (प्रमदा)

Speaker

A narrator-sage addressing a king

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (as kāmagamā tīrtha)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A holy river that seems to move as if by will, alive with fish; at its very center stands a maiden who can assume any form, poised and uncanny amid the current.

Characters & Entities

• Puṇyā Nadī (sacred river)
• Pramadā (mysterious maiden)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred rivers are portrayed as living, numinous realities where the divine and the wondrous can manifest directly.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā Khaṇḍa broadly glorifies the Revā (Narmadā) sacred landscape; this verse highlights a sanctified river setting without naming a specific ford.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription appears in this verse.