Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

तद्वन्मृकण्डतनयोऽप्यनुभूयाखिलां नदीम् । सतीर्थां पदशः प्राह पाण्डुपुत्राय पावनीम्

Transliteration

tadvanmṛkaṇḍatanayo'pyanubhūyākhilāṃ nadīm | satīrthāṃ padaśaḥ prāha pāṇḍuputrāya pāvanīm

Translation

同じく、ムリカンダの子もまた、ティールタを伴う全き河を自ら歩みつつ体験し、清めの女神レーヴァを、パーンドゥの子の一人に段々と語り示した。

Word by Word

• तद्वत्: likewise
• तद्वत्: Kriya (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्वत् (अव्यय/तद्धित)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानार्थे (in like manner)

• मृकण्ड-तनयः: the son of Mṛkaṇḍa
• मृकण्ड-तनयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृकण्ड (प्रातिपदिक) + तनय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): मृकण्डस्य तनयः

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/अप्यर्थे (also)

• अनुभूय: having experienced
• अनुभूय: Kriya (Gerundial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनु + भू (धातु) + क्त्वा (ल्यप्)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया; उपसर्ग: अनु

• अखिलाम्: entire
• अखिलाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अखिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषण

• नदीम्: the river
• नदीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• स-तीर्थाम्: with (all) tīrthas
• स-तीर्थाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (अव्यय/उपसर्गसदृश) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; अव्ययीभाव: सतीर्थम् = तीर्थैः सह (with its fords/pilgrimage-places)

• पदशः: step by step
• पदशः: Kriya (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पदशस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रमशः/अनुक्रमेण (step by step)

• प्राह: told, said
• प्राह: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + अह्/ब्रू (धातु; परस्मैपद)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; उपसर्ग: प्र

• पाण्डु-पुत्राय: to the son of Pāṇḍu
• पाण्डु-पुत्राय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डु (प्रातिपदिक) + पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): पाण्डोः पुत्रः

• पावनीम्: purifying
• पावनीम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पावनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषण

Speaker

Vāyu

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā/Narmadā

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Dvijāḥ / brāhmaṇa audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya (Mṛkaṇḍa’s son) gestures along a river-map or points downstream while speaking to a Pāṇḍava prince; the river appears as a winding blue ribbon with marked tīrthas.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Revā (Narmadā)
• Pāṇḍu
• Pāṇḍava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Direct engagement with sacred geography—walking and knowing the river’s tīrthas—becomes a living teaching passed from sage to righteous seeker.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Revā/Narmadā as a whole, along with her many tīrthas, presented as a purifier encountered sequentially.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied is the stepwise pilgrimage approach (padaśaḥ) to the river and her tīrthas; no single named rite is mandated in the verse.