Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

अपुत्रो लभते पुत्रमधनो धनमाप्नुयात् । राजेन्द्र कामदं तीर्थं नर्मदायां व्यवस्थितम्

Transliteration

aputro labhate putramadhano dhanamāpnuyāt | rājendra kāmadaṃ tīrthaṃ narmadāyāṃ vyavasthitam

Translation

Wahai raja segala raja, di tīrtha pengabul hajat yang terletak di Sungai Narmadā ini, yang tidak berputera memperoleh putera, dan yang miskin mencapai harta.

Word by Word

• अपुत्रः: a sonless man
• अपुत्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अ-पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक; उपसर्ग-निषेध)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• लभते: obtains
• लभते: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• पुत्रम्: a son
• पुत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• अधनः: a poor man (without wealth)
• अधनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अ-धन (प्रातिपदिक; उपसर्ग-निषेध)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• धनम्: wealth
• धनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• आप्नुयात्: would obtain
• आप्नुयात्: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-आप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• राजेन्द्र: O king of kings
• राजेन्द्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज-इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (राज्ञाम् इन्द्रः)

• कामदम्: wish-granting
• कामदम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काम-द (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; तीर्थम् इति विशेषणम्; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (कामान् ददाति)

• तीर्थम्: sacred ford/pilgrimage place
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• नर्मदायाम्: in/on the Narmadā (river)
• नर्मदायाम्: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• व्यवस्थितम्: situated/established
• व्यवस्थितम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-अव-स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (past passive participle, क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; तीर्थम् इति विशेषणम्

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (deduced from adjacent context in Revā Khaṇḍa narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāmadam Tīrtha (as described)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājendra (king of kings)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a Narmadā ford labeled ‘Kāmadam’, supplicants—one childless couple and one poor householder—offer prayers and water-libations; the river-goddess and attendant devas bestow symbolic gifts: a cradle and a pot of coins/grain.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā
• Kāmadatīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Faith in a sanctified tīrtha aligned with dharma is praised as a means for legitimate worldly welfare (progeny, prosperity) within a sacred framework.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Kāmadatīrtha (wish-fulfilling ford) situated on the river Narmadā, within the Revā Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit act is stated in this verse; it functions as a phalaśruti (benefit statement) for approaching/visiting the tīrtha.