Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । ततो गच्छेत्तु राजेन्द्र कोटितीर्थमनुत्तमम् । ऋषिकोटिर्गता तत्र परां सिद्धिमुपागता

Transliteration

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | tato gacchettu rājendra koṭitīrthamanuttamam | ṛṣikoṭirgatā tatra parāṃ siddhimupāgatā

Translation

ശ്രീ മാർകണ്ഡേയൻ പറഞ്ഞു—അതിനുശേഷം, ഹേ രാജേന്ദ്രാ, അനുത്തമമായ കോടിതീർത്ഥത്തിലേക്ക് പോകണം. അവിടെ ഋഷികളുടെ ഒരു കോടി പരമസിദ്ധി പ്രാപിച്ചു॥

Word by Word

• श्रीमार्कण्डेयः: the venerable Mārkaṇḍeya
• श्रीमार्कण्डेयः: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री-मार्कण्डेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (श्रीमान् मार्कण्डेयः)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (ततः = तस्मात्/तदनन्तरम्), क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• गच्छेत्: should go
• गच्छेत्: Kriya (Injunction/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधसूचक-निपात (particle: indeed/but)

• राजेन्द्र: O king of kings
• राजेन्द्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज-इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (राज्ञाम् इन्द्रः)

• कोटितीर्थम्: Koṭitīrtha (a sacred ford)
• कोटितीर्थम्: Karma (Goal/Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटि + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कोट्याः तीर्थम् / कोटिसंज्ञकं तीर्थम्)

• अनुत्तमम्: unsurpassed, excellent
• अनुत्तमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनुत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (कोटितीर्थम्)

• ऋषिकोटिः: a crore of sages
• ऋषिकोटिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ऋषीणां कोटिः)

• गता: went, has gone
• गता: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगः (gone)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• पराम्: supreme
• पराम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (सिद्धिम्)

• सिद्धिम्: attainment, perfection
• सिद्धिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिद्धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• उपागता: attained
• उपागता: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-आ-गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगः (having attained)

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Koṭitīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (addressed as rājendra)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya instructs a king; in the background, a radiant river-ford labeled Koṭitīrtha with ascetics in meditation, some shown with subtle halos indicating siddhi.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Koṭitīrtha
• Ṛṣis (sages)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places (tīrthas) are presented as accelerators of realization—Koṭitīrtha is praised as a site where great sages reached supreme siddhi.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Koṭitīrtha, a renowned tīrtha within the Revā Khaṇḍa (connected to the Revā/Narmadā sacred landscape).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A direct instruction to ‘go’ (pilgrimage) to Koṭitīrtha; the verse emphasizes the site’s potency rather than a specific rite.