Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच । साधु पृष्टं कुलपते चरित्रं नर्मदाश्रितम् । चित्रं पवित्रं दोषघ्नं श्रुतमुक्तं च सत्तम

Transliteration

sūta uvāca | sādhu pṛṣṭaṃ kulapate caritraṃ narmadāśritam | citraṃ pavitraṃ doṣaghnaṃ śrutamuktaṃ ca sattama

Translation

സൂതൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ കുലപതേ! നർമദയെ ആശ്രയിച്ച ഈ ചരിതത്തെക്കുറിച്ച് നീ നല്ല ചോദ്യം ചോദിച്ചു. ഇത് അത്ഭുതകരം, പവിത്രം, ദോഷനാശകം; ഹേ സത്തമ, ഇത് ശ്രവിക്കാനും പ്രസ്താവിക്കാനും യോഗ്യം।

Word by Word

• sūtaḥ: Sūta
• sūtaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• sādhu: well / good
• sādhu: Bhāva (Evaluation/भाव)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sādhu (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रशंसावाचक (approbative particle/adverb)

• pṛṣṭam: asked
• pṛṣṭam: Kriyā (Predicative/क्रिया-विशेष)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prach (धातु) → pṛṣṭa (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; impersonal ‘it has been asked’

• kula-pate: O lord of the lineage
• kula-pate: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kula (प्रातिपदिक) + pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘कुलस्य पतिः’)

• caritram: account/deed/story
• caritram: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) — of implied ‘is’
• Type: Noun
• Root: caritra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• narmadā-āśritam: connected with Narmadā
• narmadā-āśritam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: narmadā (प्रातिपदिक) + ā-√śri (धातु) → āśrita (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘नर्मदाम् आश्रितम्’ qualifying caritram; kta-participle

• citram: wonderful
• citram: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: citra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; predicate adjective of caritram

• pavitram: purifying
• pavitram: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pavitra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; predicate adjective

• doṣa-ghnam: destroying faults
• doṣa-ghnam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: doṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + ghna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (‘दोषान् हन्ति’)

• śruta-uktam: heard and spoken (traditional and declared)
• śruta-uktam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śruta (कृदन्त) + ukta (कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; द्वन्द्वः (इतरेतर) ‘श्रुतं च उक्तं च’ used as epithet

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• sattama: O best of the good
• sattama: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक) + tama (प्रत्यय) → sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; superlative used in address

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā/Narmadā (caritra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Kulpati / noble lineage lord (addressed as ‘kulapate’) and the assembled audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūta, seated in a sacred assembly, praises the Narmadā narrative as wondrous and fault-destroying, declaring it worthy to be heard and retold.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Narmadā (Revā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Hearing (śravaṇa) and sharing (kīrtana) tīrtha-māhātmya is itself purifying and removes moral and spiritual blemishes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Narmadā/Revā as a whole is praised; the verse frames the entire Revā Khaṇḍa as a tīrtha-māhātmya discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The implied practice is śravaṇa and pravacana—listening to and narrating the māhātmya—though no formal vow or rite is specified.