Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

त्रिकूटस्तु इति ख्यातः सर्वरत्नैर्विभूषितः । ततस्तस्मात्त्रिकूटाच्च प्लावयन्ती महीं ययौ

Transliteration

trikūṭastu iti khyātaḥ sarvaratnairvibhūṣitaḥ | tatastasmāttrikūṭācca plāvayantī mahīṃ yayau

Translation

അത് ‘ത്രികൂടം’ എന്ന പേരിൽ പ്രസിദ്ധം, സർവ്വരത്നങ്ങളാൽ വിഭൂഷിതം. പിന്നെ ആ ത്രികൂടത്തിൽ നിന്ന് അവൾ (ധാര) പുറപ്പെട്ടു ഭൂമിയെ പ്ലാവയിച്ച് ഒഴുകി.

Word by Word

• त्रिकूटः: Trikūṭa (three-peaked mountain)
• त्रिकूटः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि + कूट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘three-peaked (mountain)’

• तु: indeed; but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विरोध/विशेषार्थक-निपात) — ‘but/indeed’

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उद्धरण/इत्यर्थक) — quotative ‘thus’

• ख्यातः: was known (as)
• ख्यातः: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √ख्या (धातु) → ख्यात (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — भूतकृदन्त (क्त); ‘renowned/called’

• सर्वरत्नैः: with all kinds of gems
• सर्वरत्नैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + रत्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन — ‘with all gems’

• विभूषितः: adorned
• विभूषितः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + √भूष् (धातु) → विभूषित (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — क्त-प्रत्यय; ‘adorned’ (qualifies त्रिकूटः)

• ततः: then; from there
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘then/from there’

• तस्मात्: from that
• तस्मात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन — ablative ‘from that’

• त्रिकूटात्: from Trikūṭa
• त्रिकूटात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिकूट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन — ablative ‘from Trikūṭa’

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

• प्लावयन्ती: flooding
• प्लावयन्ती: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्लावयत् (कृदन्त; √प्लु ‘to float’ causative √प्लु → प्लावय)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ); ‘flooding’ (qualifies implied ‘गङ्गा’)

• महीं: the earth
• महीं: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — object of flooding

• ययौ: went
• ययौ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √या (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (परस्मैपद), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन — ‘went’

Speaker

Narrator (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Trikūṭa

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A radiant mountain named Trikūṭa glitters with jewels; from its flank a mighty current bursts forth and spreads, inundating the earth in a sacred flood.

Characters & Entities

• Trikūṭa
• Narmadā (implied as ‘she’)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa frames nature as sacred: mountains are divine abodes and rivers are dynamic blessings that renew the world.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Trikūṭa and the Revā/Narmadā emergence-zone—key nodes in the Reva Khanda pilgrimage map.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse functions as a tīrtha-origin account supporting pilgrimage reverence.