Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

शुक्लतीर्थं महातीर्थं नर्मदायां व्यवस्थितम् । प्रागुदक्प्रवणे देशे मुनिसङ्घनिषेवितम्

Transliteration

śuklatīrthaṃ mahātīrthaṃ narmadāyāṃ vyavasthitam | prāgudakpravaṇe deśe munisaṅghaniṣevitam

Translation

ശുക്ലതീർത്ഥം നർമദാനദിയിൽ സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്ന മഹാതീർത്ഥമാണ്; കിഴക്കും വടക്കും ചരിഞ്ഞ ദേശത്തിൽ മുനിസംഘങ്ങൾ സേവിക്കുന്നതു।

Word by Word

• śukla-tīrtham: Śukla-tīrtha
• śukla-tīrtham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śukla (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (शुक्लं नाम तीर्थम्)

• mahā-tīrtham: a great sacred ford
• mahā-tīrtham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (महत्तीर्यम्)

• narmadāyām: in/on the Narmadā
• narmadāyām: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: narmadā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• vyavasthitam: situated
• vyavasthitam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sthā (धातु) उपसर्गः vi-ava-
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; "स्थित" अर्थे—"situated"

• prāk-udak-pravaṇe: in a region sloping east and north
• prāk-udak-pravaṇe: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prāk (अव्यय) + udak (प्रातिपदिक) + pravaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (प्राक् च उदक् च यत्र प्रवणः = east- and north-sloping)

• deśe: in a place/region
• deśe: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• muni-saṅgha-niṣevitam: frequented by groups of sages
• muni-saṅgha-niṣevitam: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: muni (प्रातिपदिक) + saṅgha (प्रातिपदिक) + niṣevita (प्रातिपदिक; from dhātu sev with ni-)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (मुनिसङ्घेन निषेवितम्)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śuklatīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (nareśvara)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A wide Narmadā river scene with a bright, gently sloping bank oriented east-north; clusters of sages in meditation and teaching; pilgrims approaching the ghāṭa; the tīrtha name inscribed on a simple marker.

Characters & Entities

• Śuklatīrtha
• Narmadā
• Sages (muni-saṅgha)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s sanctity is reinforced by its sacred landscape and the continual presence of realized sages.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śuklatīrtha on the river Narmadā (Revā).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; it provides tīrtha-identification and sacred-geography markers for pilgrims.