Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

एवमुक्ता तु देवेन महापातकनाशिनी । दक्षिणं दिग्विभागं तु सा जगामाशु विक्रमा

Transliteration

evamuktā tu devena mahāpātakanāśinī | dakṣiṇaṃ digvibhāgaṃ tu sā jagāmāśu vikramā

Translation

Ainsi interpellée par le Dieu, elle—destructrice des grands péchés—s’élança promptement vers le quartier du sud, revêtue d’une puissance héroïque.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of manner: “thus”)

• उक्ता: (she was) addressed/said (to)
• उक्ता: Karma (Patient; predicate participle of subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे कर्तृवाच्य-सम्बन्धः (spoken/said to)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधार्थक निपात (particle: but/indeed)

• देवेन: by the god
• देवेन: Karana (Instrument/Agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन (instrumental singular)

• महापातकनाशिनी: destroyer of great sins
• महापातकनाशिनी: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महापातक (प्रातिपदिक) + नाशिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (महापातकस्य नाशिनी = destroyer of great sins)

• दक्षिणम्: southern
• दक्षिणम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective of object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दक्षिण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; दिग्विभागम् इति विशेषण (accusative singular)

• दिग्विभागम्: the southern region/quarter
• दिग्विभागम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिक् (प्रातिपदिक) + विभाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (दिशां विभागः = division/region of directions)

• तु: then/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (pronoun)

• जगाम: went
• जगाम: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्सभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• आशु: quickly
• आशु: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आशु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; काल/वेगवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: quickly)

• विक्रमा: valiant/with great stride
• विक्रमा: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विक्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; गुणवाचक विशेषण (having prowess/stride)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice within Revā Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Narmadā (as mahāpātaka-nāśinī)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (mahīpati) addressed in the verse-context

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A goddess-river personified, radiant and forceful, receives Śiva’s command and surges southward; attendants and sages witness her departure; the landscape opens into a directional journey.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva (deva)
• Narmadā (Revā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is divinely ordained; the river’s course is portrayed as guided by Śiva for the welfare and purification of beings.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Narmadā’s tīrtha-landscape in the southern direction is introduced as part of her māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None stated; this is a narrative transition describing the river’s divinely empowered movement.