Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

स्कंद उवाच । नर्मदेशस्य माहात्म्यं कथयामि मुने तव । यस्य स्मरणमात्रेण महापातकसंक्षयः

Transliteration

skaṃda uvāca | narmadeśasya māhātmyaṃ kathayāmi mune tava | yasya smaraṇamātreṇa mahāpātakasaṃkṣayaḥ

Translation

Skanda dit : Ô sage, je vais te dire la grandeur de la terre de la Narmadā ; par son seul souvenir, les grands péchés s’amenuisent.

Word by Word

• skaṃdaḥ: Skanda
• skaṃdaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: skanda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन (Nominative Sg)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Speech act/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (3rd sg)

• narmadeśasya: of the Narmadā region
• narmadeśasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: narmadā-deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी एकवचन (Genitive Sg)

• māhātmyam: greatness, glory
• māhātmyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māhātmya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचन (Accusative Sg)

• kathayāmi: I narrate/tell
• kathayāmi: Kriya (Predicate action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kath (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन (1st sg)

• mune: O sage
• mune: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन एकवचन (Vocative Sg)

• tava: your
• tava: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी एकवचन (Genitive Sg); सर्वनाम

• yasya: of which/whose
• yasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी एकवचन (Genitive Sg); सर्वनाम

• smaraṇa-mātreṇa: by mere remembrance
• smaraṇa-mātreṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: smaraṇa + mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया एकवचन (Instrumental Sg); ‘by mere remembrance’

• mahā-pātaka-saṃkṣayaḥ: great-sin destruction
• mahā-pātaka-saṃkṣayaḥ: Karta (Result/subject of implied ‘is’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + pātaka + saṃkṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन (Nominative Sg)

Speaker

Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Narmadā

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Muni (addressed as ‘muni’; context suggests a sage interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Skanda speaks to a sage, gesturing toward a broad, sacred river landscape: Narmadā flowing between forested banks, ghāṭas with ascetics, and distant hills; the scene emphasizes the power of remembrance—visualized as a luminous aura rising from the river.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Narmadā
• Narmadā-deśa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is spiritually transformative: even remembrance of a holy region like the Narmadā-deśa is said to lessen grave sins.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Narmadā region (Narmadā-deśa) and, by implication, the Narmadā river’s sacred sphere.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Smaraṇa (remembrance) is praised as efficacious; no detailed vow or rite is specified in this verse.