Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

मुच्यन्ते दर्शनात्तेन पातकैः स्नानमङ्गलैः । नर्मदायां नृपश्रेष्ठ ये नमन्ति त्रिलोचनम्

Transliteration

mucyante darśanāttena pātakaiḥ snānamaṅgalaiḥ | narmadāyāṃ nṛpaśreṣṭha ye namanti trilocanam

Translation

त्या मंगल स्नानाने व केवळ दर्शनानेच ते पापांतून मुक्त होतात. हे नृपश्रेष्ठ! नर्मदातटी जे त्रिलोचन भगवान् शंकरांना नमस्कार करतात, तेही अशीच मुक्ती प्राप्त करतात.

Word by Word

• mucyante: are released / are freed
• mucyante: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: muc (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (Passive), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• darśanāt: from (the) sight/seeing
• darśanāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Cause/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: darśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), पञ्चमी-विभक्तिः (Ablative, 5th), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• tena: by that (him/that)
• tena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine) / नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), तृतीया-विभक्तिः (Instrumental, 3rd), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• pātakaiḥ: by sins
• pātakaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pātaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), तृतीया-विभक्तिः (Instrumental, 3rd), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• snāna-maṅgalaiḥ: by auspicious bath-rites
• snāna-maṅgalaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक) + maṅgala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम् (Neuter), तृतीया-विभक्तिः (Instrumental, 3rd), बहुवचनम् (Plural); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (snānasya maṅgalaiḥ = auspicious acts of bathing)

• narmadāyām: in the Narmadā (river)
• narmadāyām: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: narmadā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम् (Feminine), सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (Locative, 7th), एकवचनम् (Singular)

• nṛpaśreṣṭha: O best of kings
• nṛpaśreṣṭha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक) + śreṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine), सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (Vocative), एकवचनम् (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (nṛpāṇāṃ śreṣṭhaḥ)

• ye: who (those who)
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (Nominative, 1st), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• namanti: bow (down)
• namanti: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nam (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम् (Parasmaipada), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम् (Plural)

• trilocanam: the Three-eyed (Śiva)
• trilocanam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + locana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम् (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्तिः (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचनम् (Singular); बहुव्रीहिः (yasya trīṇi locanāni saḥ)

Speaker

Unknown (addressing a king; narrative voice within Revākhaṇḍa—often Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in Purāṇic framing)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Narmadā (Revā) tīrtha with Trilocana-Śiva darśana

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (nṛpaśreṣṭha)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A riverbank at dawn: pilgrims step into the Narmadā, water glinting; a Śiva shrine with Trilocana aspect nearby; devotees with folded hands bow after bathing; ascetics and kings’ retinue in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā (Revā)
• Śiva (Trilocana)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha practice is fulfilled by devotion to Śiva: snāna and darśana at Narmadā, joined with namaskāra to Trilocana, purify sin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Narmadā (Revā) river-tīrtha, specifically as a place to worship Śiva (Trilocana).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing), darśana (seeing the tīrtha/deity), and namaskāra (bowing) to Śiva at Narmadā.