Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

अग्निश्च तेजो मृडया च देहे रेतोऽथ विष्णुरमृतस्य नाभिः । एतद्ब्रुवन् पाण्डव सत्यवाक्यं ततोऽवगाहेत पतिं नदीनाम्

Transliteration

agniśca tejo mṛḍayā ca dehe reto'tha viṣṇuramṛtasya nābhiḥ | etadbruvan pāṇḍava satyavākyaṃ tato'vagāheta patiṃ nadīnām

Translation

“ភ្លើង និងពន្លឺស្ថិតនៅក្នុងកាយ; ហើយសារធាតុបង្កកំណើត—ពិតប្រាកដ វិષ્ણុគឺជាផ្ចិតនៃអម្រឹត।” ពោលពាក្យសច្ចៈនេះហើយ ឱ បណ្ឌវៈ បន្ទាប់មកគួរចុះជ្រមុជក្នុង ព្រះអម្ចាស់នៃទន្លេទាំងឡាយ។

Word by Word

• अग्निः: fire
• अग्निः: Karta (Subject/member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात (conjunction)

• तेजः: splendour/energy
• तेजः: Karta (Subject/member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तेजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• मृडया: with grace/mercy (Mṛḍā)
• मृडया: Karana (Instrument/association)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृडा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात

• देहे: in the body
• देहे: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• रेतः: semen/seed
• रेतः: Karta (Subject/member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अथ: then/and
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तर/प्रसङ्ग-निपात (then/and further)

• विष्णुः: Viṣṇu
• विष्णुः: Karta (Subject/member of list)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अमृतस्य: of nectar/immortality
• अमृतस्य: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• नाभिः: navel
• नाभिः: Karta (Subject/member of list / predicate noun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाभि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma (Object of speaking)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• ब्रुवन्: saying/uttering
• ब्रुवन्: Karta (Agent of main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• पाण्डव: O Pāṇḍava
• पाण्डव: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• सत्यवाक्यम्: true speech/true words
• सत्यवाक्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier of object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सत्य (प्रातिपदिक) + वाक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सत्यं वाक्यम् (कर्मधारय); एतत् इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• ततः: thereupon/then
• ततः: Adhikarana (Sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अपादानार्थक/क्रमवाचक अव्यय (thereupon/from that)

• अवगाहेत: should plunge/bathe
• अवगाहेत: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + गाह् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (potential/optative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पतिम्: the lord
• पतिम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• नदीनाम्: of rivers
• नदीनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

Speaker

Narrator prescribing a bathing utterance to Yudhiṣṭhira

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-snānā at Narmadā-udadhi-saṅgama (avaghāha with satya-vākya)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kaunteya/Pāṇḍava and the royal addressee in the instructional frame

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim waist-deep in the river at the confluence, eyes half-closed in contemplation; subtle flames/auras symbolize agni and tejas around the body; above, a faint Viṣṇu symbol at the ‘navel of immortality’ motif (lotus/solar disc) appears in the sky-water reflection.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Pāṇḍava (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Pati of rivers (contextually Narmadā as river-lord in this tīrtha frame)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purification is tied to sacred cosmology: the body, elements, and divine source are contemplated before immersion, aligning inner and outer tīrtha.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The bathing/immersion context is the Narmadā–Sāgara-saṅgama tīrtha within Revā-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Recite the stated ‘truth-utterance’ and then perform avagāha (ritual immersion) in the sacred river/ocean confluence.