Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

सर्वदानोपवासेषु सर्वतीर्थावगाहने । तत्फलं मम तोयेन जायतामिति शंकर

Transliteration

sarvadānopavāseṣu sarvatīrthāvagāhane | tatphalaṃ mama toyena jāyatāmiti śaṃkara

Translation

Wahai Śaṅkara, semoga buah pahala segala dana (sedekah suci) dan upavāsa (puasa), serta pahala mandi di semua tīrtha, terbit melalui airku ini.

Word by Word

• सर्व-दान-उपवासेषु: in all gifts and fasts
• सर्व-दान-उपवासेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + दान + उपवास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), बहुवचन; द्वन्द्वसमास (दान-उपवासयोः), अधिकरण

• सर्व-तीर्थ-अवगाहने: in bathing at all sacred fords
• सर्व-तीर्थ-अवगाहने: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व + तीर्थ + अवगाहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी/प्रथमा (7/1) एकवचन; सन्दर्भतः सप्तमी (in the bathing at all tīrthas)

• तत्-फलम्: that fruit/result
• तत्-फलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम) + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• मम: my
• मम: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तोयेन: by water
• तोयेन: Karana (Instrument/means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; करण

• जायताम्: may it arise/come to be
• जायताम्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative/benedictive), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotation marker/इत्यर्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरणवाचक-अव्यय (quotative)

• शंकर: O Śaṅkara
• शंकर: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शंकर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन

Speaker

Narmadā (addressing Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-jala (waters of Narmadā)

Type: tirtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Revā asks Śaṅkara: ‘May the fruit of all charities, fasts, and all tīrtha-bathings arise through my waters.’ Show pilgrims: one giving alms, one fasting with folded hands, one bathing—unified by the river’s luminous flow.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā
• Śaṅkara (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True tīrtha-mahātmyā is the power of sacred presence—Narmadā seeks to embody the merits of dāna, upavāsa, and tīrtha-snāna for devotees.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā/Narmadā River is praised as a supreme tīrtha whose waters confer pan-tīrtha merit.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bathing (avagāhana/snāna) in sacred waters is implied as a merit-giving act, equated here with all tīrtha bathings.