Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

एतत्ते कथितं तात तीर्थमाहात्म्यमुत्तमम् । दुर्लभं मर्त्यसंज्ञस्य सर्वपापक्षयंकरम्

Transliteration

etatte kathitaṃ tāta tīrthamāhātmyamuttamam | durlabhaṃ martyasaṃjñasya sarvapāpakṣayaṃkaram

Translation

Ainsi, mon cher, je t’ai exposé la gloire suprême de ce tīrtha : rare à obtenir pour ceux qu’on nomme mortels, et cause de l’anéantissement de tous les péchés.

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र कर्मरूपेण = this (as object)

• ते: to you; for you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध) एकवचन = Genitive singular ‘of/for you’

• कथितम्: told; narrated
• कथितम्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kathita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक); √kath (धातु) + क्त
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘कथितम्’ = said/told

• तात: dear one; son
• तात: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन = Vocative singular

• तीर्थमाहात्म्यम्: the greatness of the sacred ford (tīrtha)
• तीर्थमाहात्म्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha + māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः = ‘तीर्थस्य माहात्म्यम्’

• उत्तमम्: excellent; supreme
• उत्तमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् ‘तीर्थमाहात्म्यम्’

• दुर्लभम्: hard to obtain
• दुर्लभम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: durlabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (एतत्/तीर्थमाहात्म्यम्)

• मर्त्यसंज्ञस्य: of one termed ‘mortal’ (a human)
• मर्त्यसंज्ञस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: martya + saṃjñā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः = ‘मर्त्य-संज्ञः’ (one called mortal) तस्य

• सर्वपापक्षयंकरम्: causing the destruction of all sins
• सर्वपापक्षयंकरम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva + pāpa + kṣaya + kara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः = ‘सर्वपापानां क्षयं करोति’

Speaker

Narrator addressing a listener (tāta)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Unspecified tīrtha within Revā Khaṇḍa context

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: tāta (addressed listener; likely a king/disciple in the frame narrative)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teacher-sage concluding a sacred narration to a disciple/son (‘tāta’), with the tīrtha’s aura behind them—river shimmer, sanctified air, and a sense of rare access and cleansing light.

Characters & Entities

• tīrtha-māhātmya
• sarva-pāpa-kṣaya (destruction of sins)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha-māhātmya is presented as a rare opportunity for mortals: sacred places, rightly approached, become instruments of total purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The chapter’s featured Revā-khaṇḍa tīrtha (unnamed in this verse), praised as supremely purifying and rare.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new prescription; it summarizes the tīrtha’s power—especially its capacity to destroy all sins when approached through dhārmic practice.