Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

इदं ब्रह्मा हरिरिदमिदं साक्षात्परो हरः । इदं ब्रह्म निराकारं कैवल्यं नर्मदाजलम्

Transliteration

idaṃ brahmā hariridamidaṃ sākṣātparo haraḥ | idaṃ brahma nirākāraṃ kaivalyaṃ narmadājalam

Translation

ഇത് ബ്രഹ്മാവാണ്, ഇത് ഹരിയാണ്, ഇത് സാക്ഷാൽ പരമ ഹരൻ. ഇത് നിരാകാര ബ്രഹ്മം തന്നേ—നർമദാജലം തന്നെയാണ് കൈവല്യം (മോക്ഷം)।

Word by Word

• इदं: this
• इदं: Karta/Viśeṣya (Subject/Predicate base)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• ब्रह्मा: Brahmā
• ब्रह्मा: Pradhāna-nāma (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• हरिः: Hari (Viṣṇu)
• हरिः: Pradhāna-nāma (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hari (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• इदं: this
• इदं: Karta/Viśeṣya
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• इदं: this
• इदं: Karta/Viśeṣya
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• साक्षात्: directly, manifestly
• साक्षात्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sākṣāt (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण/विशेषणार्थक (indeclinable: 'directly, manifestly')

• परः: supreme
• परः: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विशेषणम्

• हरः: Hara (Śiva)
• हरः: Pradhāna-nāma (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• इदं: this
• इदं: Karta/Viśeṣya
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• ब्रह्म: Brahman (Absolute)
• ब्रह्म: Pradhāna-nāma (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• निराकारं: formless
• निराकारं: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-ākāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; नञ्-तत्पुरुषः (आकारः न यस्य) विशेषणम्

• कैवल्यं: liberation, absolute isolation
• कैवल्यं: Pradhāna-nāma (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kaivalya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• नर्मदाजलम्: the water of the Narmadā
• नर्मदाजलम्: Pradhāna-nāma (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: narmadā + jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नर्मदायाः जलम्)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Narmadā (Revā)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The river’s surface becomes a mirror of the Absolute: within the flowing waters appear Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva, then dissolve into a radiant formless light signifying nirākāra Brahman and kaivalya.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Hari (Viṣṇu)
• Hara (Śiva)
• Brahman
• Narmadā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Revā/Narmadā is not merely a river but a manifestation of the Supreme—her water is identified with Brahman and liberation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Narmadā (Revā) as a supreme tīrtha whose waters embody the highest metaphysical reality.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse provides a theological identification that undergirds acts like snāna and ācamana as liberation-oriented.