Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

सुव्यक्ताङ्गी महाकाया महती तेन सा स्मृता । तस्माद्विक्षोभ्यमाणा हि दिग्गजैरम्बुदोपमैः

Transliteration

suvyaktāṅgī mahākāyā mahatī tena sā smṛtā | tasmādvikṣobhyamāṇā hi diggajairambudopamaiḥ

Translation

Ses membres sont nettement manifestes et son corps est immense ; c’est pourquoi on se souvient d’elle comme « Mahatī ». Ainsi, elle est réellement ébranlée et brassée par les éléphants des directions, pareils à de grands nuages.

Word by Word

• su-vyakta-aṅgī: having well-manifest limbs
• su-vyakta-aṅgī: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद) + vyakta (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅgī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — nominative singular; विशेषण

• mahā-kāyā: great-bodied
• mahā-kāyā: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (पूर्वपद) + kāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — nominative singular; विशेषण

• mahatī: great
• mahatī: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — nominative singular; विशेषण

• tena: therefore/by that
• tena: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन — instrumental singular (therefore/by that)

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — nominative singular

• smṛtā: is called/considered
• smṛtā: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — past passive participle used predicatively (‘is called/considered’)

• tasmāt: from that/therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन — ablative singular (from that/therefore)

• vikṣobhyamāṇā: being agitated
• vikṣobhyamāṇā: Kriya (Participial action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi + kṣubh (धातु) + yamāna (शानच्/कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि/आत्मनेपद-भावे शानच् कृदन्त, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘being agitated’

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle) — emphasis/indeed

• dig-gajaiḥ: by the elephants of the quarters
• dig-gajaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dik (प्रातिपदिक) + gaja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन — instrumental plural

• ambuda-upamaiḥ: cloud-like
• ambuda-upamaiḥ: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ambuda (प्रातिपदिक) + upama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन — instrumental plural; विशेषण (to diggajaiḥ)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) — Mahatī

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The immense river-goddess with clearly defined limbs, her vast body spanning the horizon; four (or eight) cloud-like diggajas at the quarters stir the waters, creating sacred turbulence and foam.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā (Mahatī)
• Diggaja (elephants of the directions)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The tīrtha is portrayed as cosmic in scale; Narmadā’s greatness is not merely physical but symbolic of universal sacred order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Narmadā (Revā) is glorified through her epithet ‘Mahatī’ and her mythic-cosmic description.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; the verse deepens reverence by depicting the river as a divine, cosmic reality.