Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

त्रिकूटी तेन विख्याता पितॄणां त्रायणी परा । द्वितीयाच्च ततो गङ्गा विस्तीर्णा धरणीतले

Transliteration

trikūṭī tena vikhyātā pitṝṇāṃ trāyaṇī parā | dvitīyācca tato gaṅgā vistīrṇā dharaṇītale

Translation

അതുകൊണ്ട് അത് ‘ത്രികൂടീ’ എന്ന പേരിൽ വിഖ്യാതം—പിതൃകളുടെ പരമ ത്രായിണി (ഉദ്ധാരിണി). പിന്നെ രണ്ടാം (ശൃംഗ)ത്തിൽ നിന്ന് ഗംഗ ധരണീതലത്തിൽ വ്യാപിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• त्रिकूटी: Trikūṭī
• त्रिकूटी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिकूटी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — proper name/river-name sense

• तेन: thereby; by that
• तेन: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन — instrumental ‘by that/therefore’

• विख्याता: renowned
• विख्याता: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + √ख्या (धातु) → विख्यात (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — क्त; ‘renowned’ (qualifies त्रिकूटी)

• पितॄणाम्: of the ancestors (Pitṛs)
• पितॄणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन — genitive ‘of the fathers/manes’

• त्रायणी: protector; saviour
• त्रायणी: Karta (Appositional subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रायणी (प्रातिपदिक; from √त्रा ‘to protect’)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘protector/saviour’ (apposition to त्रिकूटी)

• परा: supreme
• परा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘supreme’ (qualifies त्रायणी/त्रिकूटी)

• द्वितीयात्: from the second
• द्वितीयात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वितीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन — ablative ‘from the second (peak/source)’

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

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

• गङ्गा: Gaṅgā
• गङ्गा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — subject

• विस्तीर्णा: spread out; expanded
• विस्तीर्णा: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √स्तॄ/स्तृ (धातु) → विस्तीर्ण (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — क्त; ‘spread out’ (qualifies गङ्गा)

• धरणीतले: on the earth’s surface
• धरणीतले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरणी + तल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — locative ‘on the surface of the earth’

Speaker

Narrator (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Trikūṭī

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A tri-peaked sacred mountain revered for saving ancestors; from its second peak the Gaṅgā emerges and spreads across the earth, while sages perform tarpaṇa with cupped hands.

Characters & Entities

• Trikūṭī
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Gaṅgā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred places are portrayed as instruments of pitṛ-uplift (ancestral welfare), linking geography with dharma and gratitude.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Trikūṭī (as pitṛ-trāṇī) and the Gaṅgā’s sacred spread—both situated within a Purāṇic sacred-geography account.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implied pitṛ-oriented rites (e.g., tarpaṇa/śrāddha) by calling the place ‘pitṝṇāṃ trāyaṇī’, though not stated as a direct injunction.