Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

एवं सा दक्षिणा गंगा महापातकनाशिनी । उत्तरे जाह्नवी देशे पुण्या त्वं दक्षिणे शुभा

Transliteration

evaṃ sā dakṣiṇā gaṃgā mahāpātakanāśinī | uttare jāhnavī deśe puṇyā tvaṃ dakṣiṇe śubhā

Translation

Demikianlah engkau ialah Gaṅgā di selatan, pemusnah dosa-dosa besar. Di wilayah utara, Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā) itu suci; di penjuru selatan, engkau pula membawa keberkatan dan kesucian.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (thus)

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; सर्वनाम (she/that)

• दक्षिणा: southern
• दक्षिणा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दक्षिणा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; गङ्गा इति विशेषण

• गंगा: Gaṅgā
• गंगा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• महापातकनाशिनी: destroyer of great sins
• महापातकनाशिनी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महापातक + नाशिनी (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (महापातकस्य नाशिनी)

• उत्तरे: in the northern (part)
• उत्तरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative); एकवचन; देशे इति विशेषण

• जाह्नवी: Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• जाह्नवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाह्नवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; गङ्गाया नाम

• देशे: in the region
• देशे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative); एकवचन

• पुण्या: holy, meritorious
• पुण्या: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; (त्वम्/सा) इति विशेषण

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तम-पुरुष-सर्वनाम; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• दक्षिणे: in the south
• दक्षिणे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दक्षिण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative); एकवचन; (देशे) इति अध्याहृत-विशेषण

• शुभा: auspicious
• शुभा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; (त्वम्) इति विशेषण

Speaker

Śiva (Mahādeva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā/Narmadā (Dakṣiṇā Gaṅgā)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two river-goddesses mirrored: Jāhnavī in the north and Narmadā in the south; Narmadā radiates as ‘mahāpātaka-nāśinī’, with devotees bathing and shedding symbolic darkness.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā (Jāhnavī)
• Narmadā (as Dakṣiṇā Gaṅgā)
• Śiva (Mahādeva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy rivers embody divine grace; Narmadā is praised as a sin-destroying tīrtha equal in sanctity to Gaṅgā within her own sacred geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Narmadā (Revā) river is glorified as the ‘Dakṣiṇā Gaṅgā’—the southern counterpart to Gaṅgā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated here; the verse functions as a māhātmya-style proclamation of the river’s purifying power (implying snāna and reverence).