Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

कल्पवृक्षसमाकीर्णा रोहीतकसमाकुला । वहत्येषा च मन्देन तेन मन्दाकिनी स्मृता

Transliteration

kalpavṛkṣasamākīrṇā rohītakasamākulā | vahatyeṣā ca mandena tena mandākinī smṛtā

Translation

കല്പവൃക്ഷങ്ങളാൽ നിറഞ്ഞും രോഹീതക വൃക്ഷങ്ങളാൽ സാന്ദ്രവുമായ ഈ ധാര മന്ദഗതിയിൽ ഒഴുകുന്നു; അതുകൊണ്ട് ഇത് ‘മന്ദാകിനി’ എന്നു സ്മരിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു.

Word by Word

• kalpa-vṛkṣa-samākīrṇā: strewn with wish-fulfilling trees
• kalpa-vṛkṣa-samākīrṇā: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kalpa-vṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + samākīrṇā (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP from सम्+√kṝ/√kīr ‘to scatter’), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — nominative singular; विशेषण

• rohītaka-samākulā: filled with rohītaka trees
• rohītaka-samākulā: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rohītaka (प्रातिपदिक) + samākulā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — nominative singular; विशेषण

• vahati: flows
• vahati: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — ‘flows/carries’

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

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

• mandena: slowly/gently
• mandena: Karana (Manner/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: manda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन — instrumental singular; क्रियाविशेषणभाव (adverbial instrumental) ‘slowly’

• tena: therefore/by that
• tena: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन — instrumental singular (therefore/by that)

• mandākinī: Mandākinī (name of the river)
• mandākinī: Pratipādya (Predicate nominative/प्रातिपाद्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mandākinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — nominative singular (name)

• smṛtā: is called
• smṛtā: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘is called/remembered’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Revā Khaṇḍa narrative style within Skanda Purāṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) — Mandākinī aspect

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene, gently flowing river bordered by lush groves; kalpavṛkṣa-like trees heavy with blossoms and gifts; rohītaka trees dense along the bank; pilgrims sit in meditation as the river glides softly.

Characters & Entities

• Revā (Narmadā)
• Mandākinī
• Kalpavṛkṣa
• Rohītaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is itself theology: the divine river’s gentle flow and blessed riverbanks reveal her heavenly nature.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā/Narmadā and her riverbanks described as a paradisical tīrtha-region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse functions as māhātmya praise encouraging pilgrimage, reverence, and bathing by implication.