Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

स्नात्वा नित्यं धृतिपरो नर्मदाजलमाश्रितः । पूजयंस्तु महादेवमर्बुदं वर्षसंख्यया

Transliteration

snātvā nityaṃ dhṛtiparo narmadājalamāśritaḥ | pūjayaṃstu mahādevamarbudaṃ varṣasaṃkhyayā

Translation

അവൻ നിത്യവും സ്നാനം ചെയ്ത് ധൃതിയിൽ സ്ഥിരനായി, നർമദാജലത്തെ ആശ്രയിച്ച്; വർഷങ്ങളുടെ അർബുദ‑സംഖ്യക്കാലം മഹാദേവനെ പൂജിച്ചു കൊണ്ടിരുന്നു।

Word by Word

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), पूर्वक्रिया

• नित्यम्: daily, always
• नित्यम्: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण अव्ययीभाव/अव्ययवत् प्रयोग (adverb)

• धृतिपरः: steadfast, devoted to fortitude
• धृतिपरः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धृति (प्रातिपदिक) + पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (धृतौ परः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• नर्मदाजलम्: water of the Narmadā
• नर्मदाजलम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक) + जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (नर्मदायाः जलम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• आश्रितः: resorting to, dwelling by
• आश्रितः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-श्रि (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पूजयन्: worshipping
• पूजयन्: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकृदन्त (present participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तु: indeed, and
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle), विशेषार्थ/अन्वय (emphasis/contrast)

• महादेवम्: Mahādeva (Śiva)
• महादेवम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• अर्बुदम्: a crore (ten million)
• अर्बुदम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्बुद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संख्यावाचक (a crore/ten million)

• वर्षसंख्यया: by the count of years / for (so many) years
• वर्षसंख्यया: Karana (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (वर्षाणां संख्या); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; preceding narrative voice in Revā Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Narmadā (Revā)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At dawn on the Narmadā, Kambu performs daily river-bathing, then offers worship to Mahādeva—flowers, water, and silent devotion—repeated across unimaginably vast years (arbuda).

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā
• Mahādeva (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steady daily discipline—especially sacred bathing and Śiva-pūjā—ripens into divine grace over time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Narmadā (Revā) river as a sustaining tīrtha for tapas, snāna, and devotion.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Nitya-snān (daily bathing) in the Narmadā and sustained worship (pūjā) of Mahādeva over a long vow-period.