Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 79

Devanagari script

वृषभासनमारूढ शशाङ्ककृतशेखर । जय खट्वाङ्गहस्ताय गङ्गाधर नमोऽस्तु ते

Transliteration

vṛṣabhāsanamārūḍha śaśāṅkakṛtaśekhara | jaya khaṭvāṅgahastāya gaṅgādhara namo'stu te

Translation

വൃഷഭാസനത്തിൽ ആരൂഢനായി, ശശാങ്കത്തെ ശിരോഭൂഷണമാക്കിയവനേ! ഖട്വാംഗം കൈയിൽ ധരിച്ച നിനക്കു ജയം. ഹേ ഗംഗാധരാ, നിനക്കു നമസ്കാരം.

Word by Word

• vṛṣabha-āsana-mārūḍha: O rider on the bull-seat
• vṛṣabha-āsana-mārūḍha: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛṣabha (प्रातिपदिक) + āsana (प्रातिपदिक) + ā√ruh (धातु) → ārūḍha (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘वृषभ-आसने आरूढः’ (one mounted on the bull-seat)

• śaśāṅka-kṛta-śekhara: O one whose crest is made of the moon
• śaśāṅka-kṛta-śekhara: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaśāṅka (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛta (कृदन्त) + śekhara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘शशाङ्केन कृतः शेखरः यस्य’ (moon-made crest)

• jaya: victory (to you)!
• jaya: Sambodhana/Exclamation (स्तुति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ji (धातु)
• Form: अव्यय; जय-शब्दः स्तुत्यर्थे (exclamation of victory)

• khaṭvāṅga-hastāya: to the one with a club in hand
• khaṭvāṅga-hastāya: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: khaṭvāṅga (प्रातिपदिक) + hasta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘खट्वाङ्गः हस्ते यस्य’

• gaṅgādhara: O bearer of the Gaṅgā
• gaṅgādhara: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक) + dhara (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः ‘गङ्गां धरति’

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambandha (Salutation/नमस्कार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; नमस्कारार्थक

• astu: let it be
• astu: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• te: to you
• te: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (4th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Andhaka (addressing Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīra (contextual)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva seated on Nandin, crescent moon shining in his matted hair; Gaṅgā streams as a silver ribbon from the jaṭā; in one hand a khaṭvāṅga; Andhaka offers salutations at the riverbank.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Gaṅgā
• Nandin (implied)
• Candra (Moon)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True devotion praises the Lord through His sacred epithets, recognizing Him as the protector and purifier (Gaṅgādhara) beyond fear and death.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse occurs in the Revā Khaṇḍa, tied to the sanctity of the Revā/Narmadā sacred landscape, though this line specifically glorifies Śiva rather than naming a single tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; it functions as a stuti (hymn) suitable for japa or recitation in Śiva worship.