Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

अबलोवाच । ईश्वराङ्गसमुद्भूता ह्यमृतानाम विश्रुता । सरित्पापहरा पुण्या मामाश्रित्य भयं कुतः

Transliteration

abalovāca | īśvarāṅgasamudbhūtā hyamṛtānāma viśrutā | saritpāpaharā puṇyā māmāśritya bhayaṃ kutaḥ

Translation

ಆ ಸ್ತ್ರೀ ಹೇಳಿದಳು—ನಾನು ಈಶ್ವರನ ಅಂಗದಿಂದ ಉದ್ಭವಿಸಿದವಳು; ಅಮರರಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧಳಾಗಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ನಾನು ಪಾಪಹರಿಣಿ ಪುಣ್ಯ ನದಿ; ನನ್ನ ಆಶ್ರಯ ಪಡೆದರೆ ಭಯ ಎಲ್ಲಿ നിന്നೂ ಬರದು.

Word by Word

• abalā: Abalā (name)
• abalā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु), liṭ (लकार)
• Form: परोक्षभूत (लिट्/perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• īśvara-aṅga-samudbhūtā: arisen from the Lord’s body
• īśvara-aṅga-samudbhūtā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + samudbhūta (√bhū + sam-ud-, क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: ‘ईश्वरस्य अङ्गात् समुद्भूता’

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha/Emphasis
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• amṛtānām: of the immortals/nectars (context: immortals)
• amṛtānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: amṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• viśrutā: well-known
• viśrutā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viśruta (√śru + vi-, क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (implicit ‘sarit’)

• sarit-pāpa-harā: the river that removes sins
• sarit-pāpa-harā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarit (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + harā (√hṛ, agent noun)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-भाव: ‘पापं हरति’ इति; ‘सरित्’ इति विशेष्य-सूचक

• puṇyā: holy; meritorious
• puṇyā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण

• mām: me
• mām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• āśritya: having taken refuge in
• āśritya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Gerundial)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śri (धातु) + ā- (उपसर्ग), ल्यप् (absolutive)
• Form: कृदन्त (ल्यप्/क्त्वान्त), अव्यय; ‘having taken refuge in/depending on’

• bhayam: fear
• bhayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• kutaḥ: from where? how (could it arise)?
• kutaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Interrogative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kutas (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नाव्यय (interrogative adverb)

Speaker

Abalā (the divine woman; Revā/Narmadā speaking)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A brāhmaṇa questioner (and, by frame, a king hearing the narration)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The river-goddess speaks with calm authority: she is born from Īśvara’s body, famed among devas, a sin-destroying sacred river; devotees who take refuge in her become fearless.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Amarāḥ (Devas)
• Revā/Narmadā (as sarit)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Refuge in a divinely originated tīrtha dispels fear and purifies sin, because it participates in the Lord’s own sanctity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Revā (Narmadā), explicitly identified as the sin-destroying sacred river.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, āśraya (taking refuge) in the tīrtha—expressed through reverence, approach, and devotional reliance.