Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

सारस्वतं चाष्टरुद्रं सावित्रं सोमसंज्ञितम् । शिवखातं महातीर्थं रुद्रावर्तं द्विजोत्तमाः

Transliteration

sārasvataṃ cāṣṭarudraṃ sāvitraṃ somasaṃjñitam | śivakhātaṃ mahātīrthaṃ rudrāvartaṃ dvijottamāḥ

Translation

ഹേ ദ്വിജോത്തമന്മാരേ! (അവിടെ) സാരസ്വതം, അഷ്ടരുദ്രം, സാവിത്രം, ‘സോമ’ എന്നു പ്രസിദ്ധമായ തീർത്ഥം ഉണ്ട്; കൂടാതെ ശിവഖാത എന്ന മഹാതീർത്ഥവും രുദ്രാവർത്തവും ഉണ്ട്।

Word by Word

• सारस्वतम्: Sārasvata (tīrtha)
• सारस्वतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सारस्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; तीर्थ-नाम

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

• अष्टारुद्रम्: Aṣṭarudra (tīrtha)
• अष्टारुद्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्ट-रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (अष्टौ रुद्राः यस्मिन्/सम्बद्धम्)

• सावित्रम्: Sāvitra (tīrtha)
• सावित्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सावित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; तीर्थ-नाम

• सोमसंज्ञितम्: named ‘Soma’
• सोमसंज्ञितम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सोम-संज्ञित (प्रातिपदिक; समास/कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (संज्ञि √ज्ञा/ज्ञा-धातु, क्त); तत्पुरुषः (सोम-नामकं)

• शिवखातम्: Śivakhāta (tīrtha)
• शिवखातम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव-खात (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (शिवेन/शिवस्य खातम्)

• महातीर्थम्: the great sacred ford
• महातीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा-तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महत्तीर्यम्)

• रुद्रावर्तम्: Rudrāvarta (tīrtha)
• रुद्रावर्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र-आवर्त (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (रुद्रस्य आवर्तः)

• द्विजोत्तमाः: O best of the twice-born
• द्विजोत्तमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज-उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; सम्बोधनार्थे अपि प्रयुज्यते; तत्पुरुषः (द्विजेषु उत्तमाः)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced) addressing sages and listing tīrthas

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sārasvata; Aṣṭarudra; Sāvitra; Soma; Śivakhāta (mahātīrtha); Rudrāvarta

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-uttamāḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A map-like sacred panorama: multiple small shrines along a river curve; one shrine shows eight Rudra emblems (eight liṅgas or eight tridents), another has a solar disc (Sāvitra), another a moon/nectar pot (Soma), and a learning motif (Sārasvata). Śivakhāta appears as a dramatic river-cut gorge/ghāṭa; Rudrāvarta as a whirlpool bend.

Characters & Entities

• Sārasvata Tīrtha
• Aṣṭarudra Tīrtha
• Sāvitra Tīrtha
• Soma Tīrtha
• Śivakhāta Mahātīrtha
• Rudrāvarta

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Revā corridor holds layered sanctity—Vedic and Śaiva names converge to mark multiple fields of pilgrimage merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śivakhāta (explicitly called a Mahātīrtha) along with Sārasvata, Aṣṭarudra, Sāvitra, Soma, and Rudrāvarta.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is described; the verse primarily enumerates revered tīrthas for darśana and pilgrimage.