Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

शंकरानुप्रहाद्देवी महापातकनाशिनी । यस्मान्महार्णवे घोरे दृश्यते महती च सा

Transliteration

śaṃkarānuprahāddevī mahāpātakanāśinī | yasmānmahārṇave ghore dṛśyate mahatī ca sā

Translation

ശങ്കരന്റെ അനുഗ്രഹത്താൽ മഹാപാതകനാശിനിയായ ദേവി ഭയങ്കര മഹാസമുദ്രത്തിനിടയിലും വിശാലവും മഹത്തുമായ രൂപത്തിൽ ദൃശ്യമാകുന്നു; അതുകൊണ്ട് അവൾ ‘മഹതീ’ എന്നു പ്രസിദ്ധയാണ്.

Word by Word

• śaṃkara: of Śaṅkara
• śaṃkara: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन — genitive singular (of Śaṅkara)

• anugrahāt: from (his) grace
• anugrahāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anugraha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन — ablative singular (from/through grace)

• devī: the Goddess
• devī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — nominative singular

• mahā-pātaka-nāśinī: destroyer of great sins
• mahā-pātaka-nāśinī: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद) + pātaka (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — nominative singular; विशेषण (qualifier)

• yasmāt: from which
• yasmāt: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन — ablative singular (from which/whence)

• mahā-arṇave: in the great ocean
• mahā-arṇave: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (पूर्वपद) + arṇava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — locative singular

• ghore: terrible
• ghore: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghora (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — locative singular; विशेषण

• dṛśyate: is seen/appears
• dṛśyate: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive) — ‘is seen/appears’

• mahatī: great/large
• mahatī: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — nominative singular; विशेषण

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

• sā: she
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — nominative singular (she)

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) — Mahatī aspect

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast, goddess-like river-form rising mighty amid a dark, heaving ocean; Śaṅkara’s unseen blessing radiates as a halo; devotees behold her as ‘Mahatī’, the great sin-destroyer.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkara (Śiva)
• Narmadā (Devī, Mahāpātakanāśinī)
• Ocean (Mahārṇava)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine grace magnifies sacred power; Narmadā’s vastness symbolizes her capacity to purify even the gravest impurities.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Narmadā’s grandeur is described in relation to the great ocean, evoking her sacred confluence and expansive tīrtha-field.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicit; the verse is praise (stuti) supporting pilgrimage and reverential acts at the river and its confluences.