Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

निष्क्रान्ता शूलभेदाच्च सर्वपापक्षयंकरी । या सा गीर्वाणनाम्न्यन्या वहेत्पुण्या महानदी

Transliteration

niṣkrāntā śūlabhedācca sarvapāpakṣayaṃkarī | yā sā gīrvāṇanāmnyanyā vahetpuṇyā mahānadī

Translation

Issue de Śūlabheda, elle anéantit le reliquat de tous les péchés. Ce saint grand fleuve coule aussi sous un autre nom : Gīrvāṇā.

Word by Word

• niṣkrāntā: emerged
• niṣkrāntā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: niṣkrānta (कृदन्त; √क्रम् धातु, निस्-उपसर्ग)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त) — ‘gone out/emerged’

• śūla-bhedāt: from the piercing of the trident
• śūla-bhedāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūla (प्रातिपदिक) + bheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘of the trident’ + ‘piercing/splitting’)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

• sarva-pāpa-kṣayaṃ-karī: causing the destruction of all sins
• sarva-pāpa-kṣayaṃ-karī: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक) + karī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (‘all’ + ‘sin’ + ‘destruction’ + ‘making’), विशेषण

• yā: who/which
• yā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• sā: that (she)
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; निर्देशार्थक सर्वनाम (correlative)

• gīrvāṇa-nāmni: in the divine name (i.e., among the gods’ appellations)
• gīrvāṇa-nāmni: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gīrvāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + nāman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘of the gods’ + ‘name’)

• anyā: another
• anyā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• vahet: would flow/carry
• vahet: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √वह् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• puṇyā: holy
• puṇyā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• mahā-nadī: great river
• mahā-nadī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + nadī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (‘great’ + ‘river’)

Speaker

Narrator (tīrtha-māhātmya voice within Revā Khaṇḍa; exact speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śūlabheda / Gīrvāṇā-tīrtha (stream)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dramatic rock cleft shaped like a trident’s strike; from it a bright river issues forth. The water is personified as a goddess with a calm, purifying aura; subtle celestial attendants hint at the name ‘Gīrvāṇā’.

Characters & Entities

• Śūlabheda
• Gīrvāṇā
• Bhogavatī (contextual)
• Gaṅgā (contextual)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine waters are not merely symbolic; they are portrayed as active agents of purification and karmic release.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śūlabheda, from which the sin-destroying river-stream is said to emerge.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, contact with the river (such as bathing) is suggested by the claim of total sin-destruction, though no act is explicitly named.