Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 108

Devanagari script

नर्मदानीरनिर्णिक्ता मार्कण्डेयविनिर्मिता । मण्डनायेह साधूनां सर्वलोकहिताय च

Transliteration

narmadānīranirṇiktā mārkaṇḍeyavinirmitā | maṇḍanāyeha sādhūnāṃ sarvalokahitāya ca

Translation

नर्मदेच्या जलाने निर्मळ धुतलेले व मार्कण्डेयांनी घडविलेले हे येथे साधूजनांचे भूषण आणि सर्व लोकांच्या हितासाठी स्थित आहे.

Word by Word

• नर्मदा-नीर-निर्णिक्ता: washed/cleansed by the waters of the Narmadā
• नर्मदा-नीर-निर्णिक्ता: Visheshana (Adjectival predicate/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक) + नीर (प्रातिपदिक) + नि√रिक् (धातु) → निर्णिक्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त), ‘निर्णिक्ता’ = ‘धोता/शुद्धीकृता’; समासः—नर्मदायाः नीरम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) + तेन निर्णिक्ता (तृतीया-तत्पुरुष)

• मार्कण्डेय-विनिर्मिता: made/constructed by Mārkaṇḍeya
• मार्कण्डेय-विनिर्मिता: Visheshana (Adjectival predicate/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मार्कण्डेय (प्रातिपदिक) + वि-नि√मा (धातु) → विनिर्मित (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त) ‘विनिर्मिता’; समासः—मार्कण्डेयेन विनिर्मिता (तृतीया-तत्पुरुष)

• मण्डनाय: for adornment/ornamentation
• मण्डनाय: Sampradana (Recipient/Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मण्डन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (4th/Dative), एकवचन; प्रयोजन/सम्प्रदानार्थे

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikarana (Locative setting/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of place)

• साधूनाम्: of the virtuous/saints
• साधूनाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साधु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• सर्व-लोक-हिताय: for the welfare of all worlds/people
• सर्व-लोक-हिताय: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + लोक (प्रातिपदिक) + हित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—सर्वेषां लोकानां हितम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) → ‘सर्वलोकहित’; चतुर्थी प्रयोजनार्थे

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक निपात (conjunction)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā/Narmadā tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene Narmadā riverbank where a sage Mārkaṇḍeya consecrates or fashions a sacred object/inscription, freshly washed by river-water; sādhus gather as the place becomes an ‘adornment’ for the virtuous.

Characters & Entities

• Revā (Narmadā)
• Mārkaṇḍeya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holiness is portrayed as both purifying (through Narmadā water) and constructive (through r̥ṣi agency), serving the common good (sarva-loka-hita).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse alludes to a sanctified creation associated with Mārkaṇḍeya on the Narmadā/Revā bank (within the same tīrtha-context), without naming a single tīrtha here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; purification by Narmadā water is emphasized as the operative sacred principle.