Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

देवतात्रयतीर्थं च शूलखातं ततः परम् । ब्रह्मोदं शाङ्करं सौम्यं सारस्वतमतः परम्

Transliteration

devatātrayatīrthaṃ ca śūlakhātaṃ tataḥ param | brahmodaṃ śāṅkaraṃ saumyaṃ sārasvatamataḥ param

Translation

അടുത്തതായി ദേവതാത്രയ തീർത്ഥവും, അതിനുശേഷം ശൂലഖാതയും; അതിനപ്പുറം ബ്രഹ്മോദ, ശാങ്കര, സൗമ്യ, പിന്നെ സാരസ്വത തീർത്ഥവും ഉണ്ട്.

Word by Word

• देवतात्रयतीर्थम्: the Devatā-traya tīrtha (tīrtha of the three deities)
• देवतात्रयतीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवता (प्रातिपदिक) + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक) + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (तीर्थनाम)

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

• शूलखातम्: Śūlakhāta (the ‘dug by a trident’ place)
• शूलखातम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूल (प्रातिपदिक) + खात (कृदन्त; √खन् धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (तीर्थनाम); खात = क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle)

• ततः: thereafter/from there
• ततः: Sambandha (Sequence/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रम/अपादानार्थक अव्यय (from there/thereafter)

• परम्: next/further
• परम्: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (विशेषण/‘next’)

• ब्रह्मोदम्: Brahmoda (name of a tīrtha)
• ब्रह्मोदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + उद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (तीर्थनाम)

• शाङ्करम्: Śaṅkara-related
• शाङ्करम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शङ्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (शङ्करसम्बन्धि)

• सौम्यम्: gentle/auspicious
• सौम्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सोम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (विशेषण)

• सारस्वतम्: Sarasvatī-related
• सारस्वतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (सरस्वतीसम्बन्धि)

• अतः: thereafter
• अतः: Sambandha (Sequence/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अतः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रम/हेतुवाचक अव्यय (thereafter/therefore; here ‘thereafter’)

• परम्: next
• परम्: Sambandha (Qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced from Purāṇic recital style in a tīrtha-catalogue section)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Devatā-traya; Śūlakhāta; Brahmoda; Śāṅkara; Saumya; Sārasvata

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sequence of small shrines along a ghat: a tri-deva panel (Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva), a rock cleft marked by a trident impression (Śūlakhāta), a bubbling spring (Brahmoda), a prominent Śiva-liṅga shrine (Śāṅkara), a serene ‘Saumya’ altar, and a Sarasvatī/vidyā-themed pavilion (Sārasvata).

Characters & Entities

• Devatā-traya
• Śūlakhāta
• Brahmoda
• Śaṅkara
• Saumya
• Sārasvata

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is framed as a dhārmic map: remembering and visiting named tīrthas aligns one with auspicious, deity-linked sanctity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Multiple sites are invoked—Devatā-traya Tīrtha, Śūlakhāta, Brahmoda, Śāṅkara, Saumya, and Sārasvata—within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s Narmadā tīrtha circuit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated here; the verse functions as a nāmāvalī (enumeration) supporting tīrtha-smaraṇa and pilgrimage.