Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

सृष्टा रुद्रेण लोकानां संसारार्णवतारिणी

Transliteration

sṛṣṭā rudreṇa lokānāṃ saṃsārārṇavatāriṇī

Translation

Créée par Rudra pour les mondes, elle fait traverser aux êtres l’océan du saṃsāra.

Word by Word

• सृष्टा: created
• सृष्टा: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sṛṣṭa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √sṛj सर्जने)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे विधेय

• रुद्रेण: by Rudra
• रुद्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करण/कर्तृ-निर्देश (instr. sg.)

• लोकानाम्: of the worlds/people
• लोकानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; सम्बन्ध (gen. pl.)

• संसारार्णवतारिणी: she who ferries across the ocean of saṃsāra
• संसारार्णवतारिणी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saṃsāra-arṇava-tāriṇī (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; saṃsāra + arṇava + tāriṇī from √tṝ तारणे)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; नामधातु/कृदन्त-विशेषण (agent noun)

Speaker

Unknown (narrative voice within Revākhaṇḍa; commonly framed as Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa relating the māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Rudra/Śiva manifesting Revā as a river-goddess; the river as a boat/ferry carrying beings over a dark ocean labeled saṃsāra toward a luminous shore.

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Narmadā (Revā)
• Saṃsāra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Grace is made accessible through sacred geography: Rudra provides a tangible means (the river-tīrtha) for crossing saṃsāra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Revā/Narmadā as Rudra’s creation and a liberating tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; the verse frames the river as a means of deliverance, supporting practices like snāna and devotion.