Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

ऋक्षशैलेन्द्रमासाद्य चन्द्रमौलेरनुग्रहात् । वार्यौघैः प्रस्थिता यस्मान्महादेवप्रणोदिता

Transliteration

ṛkṣaśailendramāsādya candramauleranugrahāt | vāryaughaiḥ prasthitā yasmānmahādevapraṇoditā

Translation

चंद्रमौली शंकराच्या अनुग्रहाने ऋक्ष पर्वतराजास प्राप्त होऊन, महादेवाच्या प्रेरणेने ती जलप्रवाहांच्या महावेगाने पुढे निघाली।

Word by Word

• ऋक्षशैलेन्द्रम्: the lord of Ṛkṣa mountain
• ऋक्षशैलेन्द्रम्: Karma (Object of gerund)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋक्ष-शैल (प्रातिपदिक) + इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ऋक्षशैलस्य इन्द्रः = lord of Ṛkṣa-mountain)

• आसाद्य: having reached
• आसाद्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + सद् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (ल्यप्/क्त्वा-प्रत्यय, अव्ययभाव/gerund); “having reached/approached”

• चन्द्रमौलेः: of the moon-crested (Śiva)
• चन्द्रमौलेः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक) + मौलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः (चन्द्रः मौलौ यस्य = he whose crest bears the moon, i.e., Śiva)

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

• वार्यौघैः: with streams of water
• वार्यौघैः: Karana (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वारि (प्रातिपदिक) + ओघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वारिणाम् ओघाः = streams of water)

• प्रस्थिता: departed/set out
• प्रस्थिता: Kriyā (Predicate participle of subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, past passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; “set forth/departed”

• यस्मात्: from which/because of which
• यस्मात्: Apadana/Hetu (Source/Cause marker)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध/हेतुवाचक (from which/because of which)

• महादेवप्रणोदिता: impelled by Mahādeva
• महादेवप्रणोदिता: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महादेव (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रणोदिता (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तृतीया-तत्पुरुषः (महादेवेन प्रणोदिता = impelled by Mahādeva); प्रणोदिता = प्र + नुद् (धातु) + क्त (PPP)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic voice within Revā Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ṛkṣa-śaila (source-mountain context for Revā/Narmadā)

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (contextual addressee)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A majestic mountain crowned with forests; Śiva (moon-crested) bestows grace; from the mountain’s flank, torrents burst forth as the river-goddess begins her journey, water rendered as layered surges.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛkṣa Mountain (Ṛkṣaśaila)
• Śiva (Candramauli, Mahādeva)
• Narmadā (Revā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Narmadā’s power is framed as Śiva’s grace in motion—nature becomes a vehicle of divine compassion and purification.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Ṛkṣa mountain region is referenced as a key locus in Narmadā’s sacred emergence and course.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit prescription; the verse supplies origin-geography that undergirds later tīrtha practices like snāna and yātrā.