Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

मार्कण्डेय उवाच । ततः सिद्धेश्वरी देवी वैष्णवी पापनाशिनी । आनन्दं परमं प्राप्ता दृष्ट्वा स्थानं सुशोभनम्

Transliteration

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca | tataḥ siddheśvarī devī vaiṣṇavī pāpanāśinī | ānandaṃ paramaṃ prāptā dṛṣṭvā sthānaṃ suśobhanam

Translation

മാർകണ്ഡേയൻ പറഞ്ഞു—അപ്പോൾ പാപനാശിനിയായ വൈഷ്ണവീ സിദ്ധേശ്വരീ ദേവി ആ അതിശയ ശോഭനമായ സ്ഥാനത്തെ ദർശിച്ച് പരമാനന്ദം പ്രാപിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Mārkaṇḍeya
• mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mārkaṇḍeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रम/अनन्तरबोधक (adverb: thereafter)

• siddheśvarī: Siddheśvarī (mistress of the Siddhas)
• siddheśvarī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: siddha (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); तत्पुरुषः (siddhānām īśvarī)

• devī: the Goddess
• devī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); 'siddheśvarī' इत्यस्य समानाधिकरणम्

• vaiṣṇavī: Vaiṣṇavī (related to Viṣṇu)
• vaiṣṇavī: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaiṣṇavī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); 'devī' इति विशेषणम्

• pāpanāśinī: destroyer of sins
• pāpanāśinī: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); 'devī' इति विशेषणम्; तत्पुरुषः (pāpān nāśayati iti)

• ānandam: bliss
• ānandam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ānanda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• paramam: supreme
• paramam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); 'ānandam' इति विशेषणम्

• prāptā: having attained
• prāptā: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-āp (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (Past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); कर्तरि प्रयोगे विधेय-विशेषणम्

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive)

• sthānam: place, abode
• sthānam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• suśobhanam: very beautiful
• suśobhanam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + śobhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); 'sthānam' इति विशेषणम्

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Siddheśvarī/Vaiṣṇavī tīrtha (name inferred from Devī epithet; exact toponym not given)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya narrates as Siddheśvarī Devī, in Vaiṣṇavī aspect, arrives at a radiant tīrtha; the landscape gleams and the Goddess is suffused with bliss.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Siddheśvarī Devī
• Vaiṣṇavī Devī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places are living theologies: the Devī’s presence makes the site itself a giver of joy and a destroyer of sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A splendid sacred site associated with Siddheśvarī (Vaiṣṇavī) in the Revā Khaṇḍa context (name not specified in this verse).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; it introduces the Devī and the sanctity of her location.