Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । गङ्गा गया कपे रेवा यमुना च सरस्वती । सर्वपापहरा नद्यस्तासु स्नानं समाचर

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | gaṅgā gayā kape revā yamunā ca sarasvatī | sarvapāpaharā nadyastāsu snānaṃ samācara

Translation

ഈശ്വരൻ (ശിവൻ) അരുളിച്ചെയ്തു—ഹേ കപേ! ഗംഗ, ഗയ, രേവ, യമുന, സരസ്വതി—ഈ നദികൾ സർവ്വപാപഹരങ്ങളാണ്; അവയിൽ സ്നാനം ആചരിക്ക।

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara (the Lord)
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

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

• gayā: Gayā (sacred place/river-name)
• gayā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gayā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• kape: O monkey
• kape: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• revā: Revā (Narmadā)
• revā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: revā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• yamunā: Yamunā
• yamunā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yamunā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक-निपात) = conjunction 'and'

• sarasvatī: Sarasvatī
• sarasvatī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• sarva-pāpa-harāḥ: removers of all sins
• sarva-pāpa-harāḥ: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + hara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (नद्यः इति विशेष्यस्य); समासः = तत्पुरुष (सर्वपापं हरन्ति)

• nadyaḥ: rivers
• nadyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nadī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• tāsu: in those (rivers)
• tāsu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• snānam: bathing
• snānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• samācara: perform/practice
• samācara: Kriya (Command/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-car (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ/Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva/Hara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā; Gayā; Revā (Narmadā); Yamunā; Sarasvatī

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Hanumān (kapi)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva instructs Hanumān, enumerating sacred rivers; behind them, stylized river goddesses appear as luminous streams converging in a symbolic panorama.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Hanumān (Kapi)
• Gaṅgā
• Gayā
• Revā (Narmadā)
• Yamunā
• Sarasvatī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purification is harmonized with sacred geography: bathing in renowned tīrthas is presented as a dharmic means to remove sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Revā (Narmadā) is explicitly praised among the sarva-pāpa-harā rivers, alongside Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Sarasvatī, and the holy Gayā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bathing) in the named sacred rivers as a remedy for pāpa (sin).