Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

। श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । ततो गच्छेत्तु राजेन्द्र गङ्गावाहकमुत्तमम् । नर्मदायां महापुण्यं भृगुतीर्थसमीपतः

Transliteration

| śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | tato gacchettu rājendra gaṅgāvāhakamuttamam | narmadāyāṃ mahāpuṇyaṃ bhṛgutīrthasamīpataḥ

Translation

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya bersabda: “Kemudian, wahai raja agung, hendaklah engkau menuju tīrtha utama bernama Gaṅgāvāhaka; amat besar pahalanya di Sungai Narmadā, berhampiran Bhṛgu-tīrtha.”

Word by Word

• श्रीमार्कण्डेयः: Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya
• श्रीमार्कण्डेयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रीमार्कण्डेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular); सम्बोधन-प्रसङ्गे वक्ता

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• गच्छेत्: should go
• गच्छेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• तु: indeed; but
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• राजेन्द्र: O king of kings
• राजेन्द्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजेन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• गङ्गावाहकम्: the carrier of the Gaṅgā (a place/ford)
• गङ्गावाहकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक) + वाहक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• उत्तमम्: excellent; best
• उत्तमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषणम् (qualifier) गङ्गावाहकम्

• नर्मदायाम्: in/on the Narmadā
• नर्मदायाम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• महापुण्यम्: very holy; greatly meritorious
• महापुण्यम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषणम् (qualifier) गङ्गावाहकम् (तीर्थम्)

• भृगुतीर्थसमीपतः: from/near the vicinity of Bhṛgu-tīrtha
• भृगुतीर्थसमीपतः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भृगुतीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक) + समीप (प्रातिपदिक) + तस् (तसिल्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिलन्त (ablatival adverb) ‘-तः’ = ‘from/near’; क्रियाविशेषण

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgāvāhaka

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājendra (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya instructs a king on a riverbank map-like vista: the Narmadā flowing, signposts to Bhṛgu-tīrtha and Gaṅgāvāhaka, pilgrims preparing to depart.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Narmadā
• Gaṅgāvāhaka
• Bhṛgutīrtha
• rājendra (king)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇa maps dharma onto geography—moving from one tīrtha to another is itself a guided spiritual discipline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgāvāhaka tīrtha on the Narmadā, located near Bhṛgu-tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A pilgrimage directive: proceed to (visit) the Gaṅgāvāhaka tīrtha in the Narmadā region near Bhṛgu-tīrtha.