Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

विन्ध्यनिर्झरनिष्क्रान्ता पुण्यतोया सरिद्वरा । प्रविष्टा नर्मदातोये सर्वपापप्रणाशने

Transliteration

vindhyanirjharaniṣkrāntā puṇyatoyā saridvarā | praviṣṭā narmadātoye sarvapāpapraṇāśane

Translation

വിംധ്യപർവതത്തിലെ നിർഝരങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന് ഉദ്ഭവിച്ച, പുണ്യജലത്തോടെ നിറഞ്ഞ ആ ശ്രേഷ്ഠ നദി, സർവ്വപാപപ്രണാശിനിയായ നർമദയുടെ ജലത്തിൽ പ്രവേശിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• विन्ध्यनिर्झरनिष्क्रान्ता: having issued forth from the Vindhya waterfall(s)
• विन्ध्यनिर्झरनिष्क्रान्ता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विन्ध्य + निर्झर + निष्क्रान्त (कृदन्त; √क्रम् धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त); समासः (विन्ध्यस्य निर्झरात् निष्क्रान्ता)

• पुण्यतोया: having holy waters
• पुण्यतोया: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य + तोय (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (पुण्यं तोयं यस्याः)

• सरिद्वरा: the excellent river
• सरिद्वरा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित् + वरा (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (वरा सरित्)

• प्रविष्टा: entered
• प्रविष्टा: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-विश् (कृदन्त; √विश् धातु)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त); कर्तरि

• नर्मदातोये: into the waters of the Narmadā
• नर्मदातोये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा + तोय (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नर्मदायाः तोयम्)

• सर्वपापप्रणाशने: in (that which is) the destroyer of all sins
• सर्वपापप्रणाशने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + पाप + प्रणाशन (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (प्रणाशन-शब्दः नपुंसकः प्रायः), सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (सर्वेषां पापानां प्रणाशने)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced: Āvantya Khaṇḍa narrative frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Saṅgama (confluence) with Narmadā (Revā)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpaśreṣṭha (best of kings)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bright tributary cascades from Vindhya falls, winding through forest, then merges into the broad Narmadā; the confluence glows with sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Vindhya
• Narmadā
• Revā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy rivers and their confluences are portrayed as potent purifiers, with the Narmadā especially praised as a destroyer of sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A saṅgama (confluence) where a Vindhya-born river meets the Narmadā, within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, pilgrimage and sacred bathing at the Narmadā’s purifying waters, especially at a confluence.