Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 59

Devanagari script

सद्य एव तदा जाताः पापिष्ठा गतकल्मषाः । तीर्थस्यास्य प्रभावेन नर्मदायाः प्रभावतः

Transliteration

sadya eva tadā jātāḥ pāpiṣṭhā gatakalmaṣāḥ | tīrthasyāsya prabhāvena narmadāyāḥ prabhāvataḥ

Translation

À l’instant même, ceux qui jadis étaient les plus pécheurs furent délivrés de toute souillure — par la puissance de ce tīrtha, par la puissance de la sainte Narmadā.

Word by Word

• सद्यः: immediately
• सद्यः: Sambandha (Temporal adverb/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सद्यस् (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (immediately)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (emphatic particle)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Sambandha (Temporal adverb/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (then)

• जाताः: became/were born (became)
• जाताः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु) → जात (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; past participle used predicatively

• पापिष्ठाः: most sinful
• पापिष्ठाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक) → पापिष्ठ (तरप्/तमप्-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; अतिशयवाचक (superlative: most sinful)

• गतकल्मषाः: whose impurity has gone (purified)
• गतकल्मषाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गत (कृदन्त) + कल्मष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहि: येषां कल्मषं गतं ते

• तीर्थस्य: of the sacred ford/place
• तीर्थस्य: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; genitive

• अस्य: of this
• अस्य: Sambandha (Specifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun (of this)

• प्रभावेन: by the power/effect
• प्रभावेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; instrumental

• नर्मदायाः: of (the river) Narmadā
• नर्मदायाः: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; genitive

• प्रभावतः: due to the power
• प्रभावतः: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रभावतस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थे/तसिल् (because of, due to)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual purāṇic voice within Revā Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Narmadā (Revā) tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Moment of transformation: formerly sinful men stand at the Narmadā’s edge as a luminous aura washes over them; their faces brighten, bodies depicted as cleansed; river glows with sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā (Revā)
• Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The māhātmya proclaims the Narmadā’s tīrtha as instantly purifying, capable of removing even deep moral defilement.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Narmadā (Revā) and the associated tīrtha where the bathing occurred.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied: bathing/immersion at the Narmadā tīrtha as the means of immediate purification.