Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । ततो गच्छेत्तु राजेन्द्र नर्मदायाः पुरातनम् । ब्रह्महत्याहरं तीर्थं वाराणस्या समं हि तत्

Transliteration

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | tato gacchettu rājendra narmadāyāḥ purātanam | brahmahatyāharaṃ tīrthaṃ vārāṇasyā samaṃ hi tat

Translation

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya dit : Ensuite, ô roi, il faut se rendre à l’antique gué sacré de la Narmadā, un tīrtha qui anéantit le péché du meurtre d’un brāhmane, et qui est véritablement l’égal de Vārāṇasī.

Word by Word

• śrī-mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: revered Mārkaṇḍeya
• śrī-mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī (प्रातिपदिक/उपपद) + mārkaṇḍeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (honorific epithet)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• tataḥ: then/thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय/तद्धित-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), क्रम/अनन्तर (thereafter)

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Injunction/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle), विरोध/अनुज्ञा-सूचक (but/indeed)

• rājendra: O best of kings
• rājendra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (Vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (king of kings)

• narmadāyāḥ: of the Narmadā
• narmadāyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: narmadā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• purātanam: ancient
• purātanam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: purātana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying tīrtham)

• brahmahatyā-haram: removing the sin of brahmahatyā
• brahmahatyā-haram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brahmahatyā (प्रातिपदिक) + hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (brahmahatyām harati = removes brahmin-slaying sin), विशेषण (qualifying tīrtham)

• tīrtham: sacred ford/place of pilgrimage
• tīrtham: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• vārāṇasyāḥ: of Vārāṇasī
• vārāṇasyāḥ: Sambandha (Comparison base/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārāṇasī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• samam: equal
• samam: Visheshana (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (tīrtham)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle), निश्चय/हेतु-सूचक (indeed/for)

• tat: that (tīrtha)
• tat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Narmadāyāḥ purātanaṃ tīrtham (unnamed ancient ford)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya instructs the king to proceed to an ancient Narmadā ford, portrayed as luminous waters with ascetics and pilgrims, with an implied equivalence to Kāśī’s sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā
• Vārāṇasī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Certain Narmadā tīrthas are proclaimed supremely purifying, capable of removing even grave sins.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

An ancient Narmadā tīrtha described as brahmahatyā-hara and equated in merit with Vārāṇasī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The prescription is pilgrimage: ‘one should go’ (gacchet) to that Narmadā tīrtha.