Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

वीक्ष्यते जाह्नवी पुण्या देवैरुत्पादिता पुरा । स्नात्वा तत्र जलं दद्यात्तिलमिश्रं नराधिप

Transliteration

vīkṣyate jāhnavī puṇyā devairutpāditā purā | snātvā tatra jalaṃ dadyāttilamiśraṃ narādhipa

Translation

Là se voit la sainte Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā), jadis manifestée par les dieux. Après t’y être baigné, ô roi des hommes, offre de l’eau mêlée de graines de sésame.

Word by Word

• vīkṣyate: is seen; appears
• vīkṣyate: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √īkṣ (धातु) + vi- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular), आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive): "is seen/appears"

• jāhnavī: the river Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• jāhnavī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāhnavī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (sg.)

• puṇyā: holy, meritorious
• puṇyā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nom./1st), एकवचन (sg.); विशेषण (qualifier) of jāhnavī

• devaiḥ: by the gods
• devaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन (pl.)

• utpāditā: produced, brought forth
• utpāditā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: utpādita (कृदन्त; √pad/√pād? causative from √pad/√pād in sense "to produce"; here as past passive participle from √pad/√pād/√jan? traditional: √pad (धातु) with ut- + causative)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nom./1st), एकवचन (sg.); jāhnavī-विशेषण

• purā: formerly, in ancient times
• purā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √snā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वक्रिया: "having bathed"

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

• jalam: water
• jalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (sg.)

• dadyāt: should give
• dadyāt: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (sg.), परस्मैपद; विधि/आदेश: "should give"

• tila-miśram: mixed with sesame
• tila-miśram: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tila (प्रातिपदिक) + miśra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (determinative): "tilaiḥ miśram"; नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), द्वितीया (Acc./2nd), एकवचन (sg.); jala-विशेषण

• narādhipa: O king (lord of men)
• narādhipa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक) + adhipa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास: "narāṇām adhipaḥ"; पुंलिङ्ग (m.), सम्बोधन (Vocative/8th), एकवचन (sg.)

Speaker

Deductive (Revā-khaṇḍa narrator/ṛṣi addressing Narādhipa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā) tīrtha (as cited in Revākhaṇḍa itinerary)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Narādhipa (king/ruler addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim-king at a luminous riverbank where Gaṅgā is envisioned as a divine presence; after bathing, he offers a cupped libation of water darkened with sesame, with priests and devas subtly implied in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• Devas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred rivers are embodiments of divine grace; bathing and offering libations there becomes a direct act of purification and ancestral duty.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā) is explicitly praised as a holy presence encountered in this tīrtha sequence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bathe (snāna) and then offer water mixed with sesame (tila) as a libation/ancestral offering.