Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

ऋक्षशैलेन्द्रमासाद्य चन्द्रमौलेरनुग्रहात् । वार्यौघैः प्रस्थिता यस्मान्महादेवप्रणोदिता

Transliteration

ṛkṣaśailendramāsādya candramauleranugrahāt | vāryaughaiḥ prasthitā yasmānmahādevapraṇoditā

Translation

Ayant atteint le seigneurial mont Ṛkṣa, par la grâce du Seigneur au croissant de lune (Śiva), elle s’élança en flots d’eau tumultueux, poussée par Mahādeva.

Word by Word

• ऋक्षशैलेन्द्रम्: the lord of Ṛkṣa mountain
• ऋक्षशैलेन्द्रम्: Karma (Object of gerund)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋक्ष-शैल (प्रातिपदिक) + इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ऋक्षशैलस्य इन्द्रः = lord of Ṛkṣa-mountain)

• आसाद्य: having reached
• आसाद्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + सद् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (ल्यप्/क्त्वा-प्रत्यय, अव्ययभाव/gerund); “having reached/approached”

• चन्द्रमौलेः: of the moon-crested (Śiva)
• चन्द्रमौलेः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक) + मौलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (चन्द्रः मौलौ यस्य = he whose crest bears the moon, i.e., Śiva)

• अनुग्रहात्: from/through (his) grace
• अनुग्रहात्: Apadana (Source/Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन (ablative singular)

• वार्यौघैः: with streams of water
• वार्यौघैः: Karana (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वारि (प्रातिपदिक) + ओघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वारिणाम् ओघाः = streams of water)

• प्रस्थिता: departed/set out
• प्रस्थिता: Kriyā (Predicate participle of subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; “set forth/departed”

• यस्मात्: from which/because of which
• यस्मात्: Apadana/Hetu (Source/Cause marker)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध/हेतुवाचक (from which/because of which)

• महादेवप्रणोदिता: impelled by Mahādeva
• महादेवप्रणोदिता: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महादेव (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रणोदिता (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः (महादेवेन प्रणोदिता = impelled by Mahādeva); प्रणोदिता = प्र + नुद् (धातु) + क्त (PPP)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice within Revā Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ṛkṣa-śaila (source-mountain context for Revā/Narmadā)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (contextual addressee)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A majestic mountain crowned with forests; Śiva (moon-crested) bestows grace; from the mountain’s flank, torrents burst forth as the river-goddess begins her journey, water rendered as layered surges.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛkṣa Mountain (Ṛkṣaśaila)
• Śiva (Candramauli, Mahādeva)
• Narmadā (Revā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Narmadā’s power is framed as Śiva’s grace in motion—nature becomes a vehicle of divine compassion and purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Ṛkṣa mountain region is referenced as a key locus in Narmadā’s sacred emergence and course.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; the verse supplies origin-geography that undergirds later tīrtha practices like snāna and yātrā.