Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 77

Devanagari script

एतं कीर्तयते यस्तु नर्मदेश्वरसम्भवम् । भक्त्या शृणोति च नरः सोऽपि स्नानफलं लभेत्

Transliteration

etaṃ kīrtayate yastu narmadeśvarasambhavam | bhaktyā śṛṇoti ca naraḥ so'pi snānaphalaṃ labhet

Translation

നർമദേശ്വരന്റെ പ്രാകട്യത്തെക്കുറിച്ചുള്ള ഈ കഥ ആരെങ്കിലും കീർത്തനം ചെയ്യുകയും, ഭക്തിയോടെ ആരെങ്കിലും കേൾക്കുകയും ചെയ്താൽ—അവനും തീർത്ഥസ്നാനഫലം പ്രാപിക്കും.

Word by Word

• etam: this (one/thing)
• etam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: etad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• kīrtayate: praises; recites
• kīrtayate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kīrt (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विशेषार्थक (indeed)

• narmadeśvara-sambhavam: arisen from Narmadeśvara
• narmadeśvara-sambhavam: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: narmadā (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक) + sambhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying etam); (नर्मदायाः ईश्वरः = नर्मदेश्वरः; तस्मात् सम्भवः)

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

• śṛṇoti: hears
• śṛṇoti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय (conjunction)

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• api: also; even
• api: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अपि = also/even

• snāna-phalam: the fruit of bathing
• snāna-phalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक) + phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; (स्नानस्य फलम्)

• labhet: would obtain
• labhet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: labh (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Narmadeśvara

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee recites the Narmadeśvara manifestation story to an assembly; in a visionary overlay, the Narmadā river and a radiant Śiva-liṅga appear, signifying that hearing itself grants snāna merit.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadeśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotional hearing and recitation of sacred geography (māhātmya) transmit merit—faithful śravaṇa and kīrtana become a form of pilgrimage.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Narmadeśvara tīrtha on the Narmadā, whose ‘sambhava’ (origin narrative) is being praised.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Kīrtana (narrating) and śravaṇa (hearing with devotion) of the tīrtha’s origin story, yielding snāna-phala (bathing merit).