Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

महेन्द्रो मलयः सह्यो हेमकूटोऽथ माल्यवान् । विन्ध्यश्च पारियात्रश्च सप्तैते कुलपर्वताः

Transliteration

mahendro malayaḥ sahyo hemakūṭo'tha mālyavān | vindhyaśca pāriyātraśca saptaite kulaparvatāḥ

Translation

മഹേന്ദ്രം, മലയ, സഹ്യ, ഹേമകൂട, മാല്യവാൻ, വിന്ധ്യ, പാരിയാത്ര—ഇവ ഏഴാണ് പ്രസിദ്ധമായ ‘കുലപർവതങ്ങൾ’.

Word by Word

• महेन्द्रः: Mahendra (mountain)
• महेन्द्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• मलयः: Malaya (mountain)
• मलयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मलय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सह्यः: Sahya (mountain range)
• सह्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सह्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• हेमकूटः: Hemakūṭa (mountain)
• हेमकूटः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हेम (प्रातिपदिक) + कूट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (हेमस्य कूटः)

• अथ: then/and
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse particle/अनुक्रम)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle: ‘then/and further’)

• माल्यवान्: Mālyavān (mountain)
• माल्यवान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माल्यवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• विन्ध्यः: Vindhya (mountain range)
• विन्ध्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विन्ध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• पारियात्रः: Pāriyātra (mountain)
• पारियात्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पारियात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• सप्त: seven
• सप्त: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्त (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या-शब्दः; विशेषण (एते)

• एते: these
• एते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• कुलपर्वताः: the ‘clan’/principal mountains
• कुलपर्वताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुल (प्रातिपदिक) + पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (कुलस्य पर्वताः)

Speaker

Narrator in the Revā Khaṇḍa (contextual purāṇic voice; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa relating the māhātmya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cartographic-sacred tableau: seven mountain masses arranged like guardians around the subcontinent, with rivers emerging; sages point and recite names as a litany.

Characters & Entities

• Mahendra
• Malaya
• Sahya
• Hemakūṭa
• Mālyavān
• Vindhya
• Pāriyātra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas map dharma onto geography: even the greatest mountains are named and remembered within sacred cosmology.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Revā/Narmadā sacred region, with reference to India’s classical sacred mountain geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; it is a catalog of sacred geography supporting the māhātmya narrative.