Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

तां वेदगर्भां विख्यातां विबुधौघाभिवन्दिताम् । वद मे त्वं महाप्राज्ञ तीर्थपूगपरिष्कृताम्

Transliteration

tāṃ vedagarbhāṃ vikhyātāṃ vibudhaughābhivanditām | vada me tvaṃ mahāprājña tīrthapūgapariṣkṛtām

Translation

Wahai yang maha bijaksana, ceritakanlah kepadaku tentang sungai yang termasyhur itu—yang bagaikan mengandung Veda, dihormati oleh rombongan para dewa, dan dihiasi oleh pelbagai tīrtha.

Word by Word

• tām: that (her)
• tām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun

• veda-garbhām: containing the Veda / Veda-embodied
• veda-garbhām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण) of tām
• Type: Adjective
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक) + garbha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘वेदस्य गर्भः’ → ‘having the Veda within’) used as epithet

• vikhyātām: renowned
• vikhyātām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-khyā (धातु) → vikhyāta (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; ‘well-known’

• vibudha-ogha-abhivanditām: revered by hosts of gods
• vibudha-ogha-abhivanditām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vibudha (प्रातिपदिक) + ogha (प्रातिपदिक) + abhi-vand (धातु) → abhivandita (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः: (विबुधानाम् ओघः) + तेन अभिवन्दिता; क्त-प्रत्यय participle

• vada: tell / speak
• vada: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vad (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• me: to me
• me: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• mahā-prājña: O greatly wise one
• mahā-prājña: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + prājña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः; संबोधन-प्रयोग

• tīrtha-pūga-pariṣkṛtām: adorned/embellished with a multitude of tīrthas
• tīrtha-pūga-pariṣkṛtām: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + pūga (प्रातिपदिक) + pari-√kṛ (धातु) → pariṣkṛta (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः: ‘तीर्थाणां पूगः’ तेन परिष्कृता; क्त-प्रत्यय

Speaker

Śaunaka

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sūta / the addressed mahāprājña

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A supplicant addresses a great sage, requesting a full account of the famed Narmadā—Veda-filled, worshipped by gods, and ornamented with countless tīrthas.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Śaunaka
• Vibudha (Devas)
• Veda
• Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A true tīrtha is not merely water—it is Vedic sanctity embodied, validated by divine reverence and by a landscape of holy fords.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse anticipates Narmadā (Revā) as the famed ‘Veda-garbhā’ river surrounded by innumerable tīrthas.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it requests authoritative description, which typically leads to prescribed snāna, darśana, and tīrtha-sevā in subsequent verses.