Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

विस्मयाविष्टहृदयो ह्यहमुद्वीक्ष्य तां शुभाम् । स्नात्वा जले शुभे तस्याः स्तोतुमभ्युद्यतस्ततः

Transliteration

vismayāviṣṭahṛdayo hyahamudvīkṣya tāṃ śubhām | snātvā jale śubhe tasyāḥ stotumabhyudyatastataḥ

Translation

ആ ശുഭമൂർത്തിയെ കണ്ടപ്പോൾ എന്റെ ഹൃദയം വിസ്മയത്തിൽ മുങ്ങി; തുടർന്ന് അവളുടെ പുണ്യജലത്തിൽ സ്നാനം ചെയ്ത്, അവളെ സ്തുതിക്കാൻ ഞാൻ തയ്യാറായി.

Word by Word

• vismaya-āviṣṭa-hṛdayaḥ: whose heart was seized by wonder
• vismaya-āviṣṭa-hṛdayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vismaya (प्रातिपदिक) + āviṣṭa (कृदन्त; ā-√viś (विश्) + क्त) + hṛdaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (विस्मयेन आविष्टं हृदयम् यस्य)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Discourse particle (निपातार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (for/indeed)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• udvīkṣya: having seen
• udvīkṣya: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ud-√īkṣ (ईक्ष्) + ल्यप् (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय; absolutive)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यपन्त अव्ययीभावरूप क्रियाविशेषण (absolutive): ‘having looked up/seen’

• tām: her
• tām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• śubhām: auspicious; beautiful
• śubhām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ताम् इति विशेषणम्

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √snā (स्ना) + क्त्वा
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (absolutive): ‘having bathed’

• jale: in the water
• jale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Locative: in water)

• śubhe: auspicious
• śubhe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śubha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; जले इति विशेषणम्

• tasyāḥ: of her
• tasyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Genitive: of her)

• stotum: to praise
• stotum: Prayojana (Purpose/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √stu (स्तु) + तुमुन् (infinitive)
• Form: तुमुनन्त (infinitive): ‘to praise’

• abhyudyataḥ: prepared; intent
• abhyudyataḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: abhi-ud-√yam (यम्) + kta (क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (ready/raised up)

• tataḥ: then; thereafter
• tataḥ: Adverbial (क्रम/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्/अनन्तरम् इत्यर्थे (thereupon/then)

Speaker

First-person narrator (a ṛṣi/purāṇic speaker addressing a king; exact identity not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā/Narmadā

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (rājan)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee, eyes widened in wonder, stands at the river’s edge; after the vision, he steps into the shining water to bathe, hands poised as if about to begin a hymn.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā Devī
• snāna (bathing)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Wonder (vismaya) should mature into practice—snāna and stuti are the devotee’s dharmic response to divine encounter.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Narmadā (Revā), explicitly through bathing in her auspicious waters.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) in Narmadā’s holy waters, followed by stuti (praise).