Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

मार्कण्डेय उवाच । ततो गच्छेद्धरापाल शीवतीर्थमनुत्तमम् । दर्शनाद्यस्य देवस्य मुच्यते सर्वकिल्बिषैः

Transliteration

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca | tato gaccheddharāpāla śīvatīrthamanuttamam | darśanādyasya devasya mucyate sarvakilbiṣaiḥ

Translation

മാർക്കണ്ഡേയൻ പറഞ്ഞു—അതിനുശേഷം, ഹേ ധരാപാലാ, അനുത്തമമായ ശിവതീർത്ഥത്തിലേക്ക് പോകണം. അവിടെയുള്ള ദേവന്റെ ദർശനം മാത്രത്താൽ എല്ലാ പാപങ്ങളിൽ നിന്നും മോചനം ലഭിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• मार्कण्डेयः: Mārkaṇḍeya
• मार्कण्डेयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मार्कण्डेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

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

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• गच्छेत्: should go
• गच्छेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• धरापाल: O protector of the earth (king)
• धरापाल: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरा-पाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• शीवतीर्थम्: the Śīva-tīrtha
• शीवतीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शीव-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• अनुत्तमम्: unsurpassed
• अनुत्तमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनुत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; ‘शीवतीर्थम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• दर्शनात्: from/by (the act of) seeing
• दर्शनात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative/5th), एकवचन; हेतौ (cause)

• यस्य: of whom/whose
• यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (relative)

• देवस्य: of the deity
• देवस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन

• मुच्यते: is freed
• मुच्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive)

• सर्वकिल्बिषैः: from all sins
• सर्वकिल्बिषैः: Apadana (Separation/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व-किल्बिष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन; अपादानार्थे (instrumental used for separation: ‘from’)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śiva Tīrtha

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (addressed as Dharāpāla)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya directs the king to an unsurpassed Śiva-tīrtha; a Śiva-liṅga or anthropomorphic Śiva in a small riverside shrine; pilgrims approach for darśana, with a visual motif of darkness (sins) dissolving into light.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Śiva
• Śiva-tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places centered on Śiva grant purification; even darśana (reverent sight) of the deity is taught as a powerful means of removing sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śiva-tīrtha (Śīvatīrtha), presented as an unsurpassed pilgrimage site within the Revā-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Pilgrimage (gacchet) and darśana of the deity at Śiva-tīrtha.