Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

सम्मार्जनाभ्युक्षणलेपनेन तदालये नश्यति सर्वपापम् । नारी नराणां परया तु भक्त्या दृष्ट्वा तु रेवां नरसत्तमस्य

Transliteration

sammārjanābhyukṣaṇalepanena tadālaye naśyati sarvapāpam | nārī narāṇāṃ parayā tu bhaktyā dṛṣṭvā tu revāṃ narasattamasya

Translation

ആ ക്ഷേത്രത്തിൽ തൂത്തുവാരുകയും പുണ്യജലം തളിക്കുകയും ലേപനം ചെയ്യുകയും ചെയ്താൽ സർവ്വപാപങ്ങളും നശിക്കുന്നു। പിന്നെ, ഹേ നരശ്രേഷ്ഠാ, സ്ത്രീയും പരമഭക്തിയോടെ റേവയെ ദർശിച്ച് ശുദ്ധ പുണ്യം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• sammārjana-abhyukṣaṇa-lepanena: by sweeping, sprinkling, and plastering
• sammārjana-abhyukṣaṇa-lepanena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sammārjana (√mṛj, कृदन्त/भाव-प्रातिपदिक) + abhyukṣaṇa (√ukṣ, कृदन्त/भाव-प्रातिपदिक) + lepana (√lip, कृदन्त/भाव-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (सम्मार्जनं च अभ्युक्षणं च लेपनं च); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन (समाहार-द्वन्द्व as instrument)

• tat-ālaye: in that abode/temple
• tat-ālaye: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + ālaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष (तस्य आलये); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• naśyati: perishes/is destroyed
• naśyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √naś (नश्)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• sarva-pāpam: all sin
• sarva-pāpam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय (सर्वं पापम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• nārī: a woman
• nārī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• narāṇām: of men
• narāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• parayā: supreme/utter
• parayā: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; विशेषण (of bhaktyā)

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic/contrastive particle)

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (दृश्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having seen’

• tu: indeed/and
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात

• revām: Reva (Narmada river)
• revām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: revā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• nara-sattamasya: of the best of men
• nara-sattamasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (नराणां सत्तमः); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (contextually within Mārkaṇḍeya’s narration in Revā Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) darśana; Revā-kṣetra shrine-sevā

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inside a riverside shrine: devotees sweep the floor, sprinkle sanctified water, smear auspicious paste; a woman stands at the doorway with folded hands, gazing toward the flowing Revā beyond.

Characters & Entities

• Revā (Narmadā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Humble service to a sacred shrine and devoted darśana of Revā are powerful means for purification from sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Revā (the Narmadā) and her shrine/abode within the Revā Khaṇḍa sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Cleansing practices: sweeping, sprinkling sanctified water, and smearing/plastering the sacred area as devotional service.