Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । ततो गच्छेत्तु राजेन्द्र नरदेश्वरमुत्तमम् । तीर्थानां परमं तीर्थं निर्मितं नारदेन तु

Transliteration

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | tato gacchettu rājendra naradeśvaramuttamam | tīrthānāṃ paramaṃ tīrthaṃ nirmitaṃ nāradena tu

Translation

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya bersabda: “Kemudian, wahai raja yang utama, hendaklah engkau pergi ke Naradeśvara yang mulia—tīrtha tertinggi antara segala tīrtha—yang telah didirikan oleh Ṛṣi Nārada.”

Word by Word

• श्रीमार्कण्डेयः: the venerable Mārkaṇḍeya
• श्रीमार्कण्डेयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री-मार्कण्डेय (प्रातिपदिक; श्री + मार्कण्डेय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (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), प्रथमपुरुष (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; राजन् + इन्द्र)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (8th/Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• नरदेश्वरम्: the lord of men
• नरदेश्वरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर-देश्वर (प्रातिपदिक; नर + ईश्वर)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

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

• तीर्थानाम्: of (all) sacred fords/pilgrimage places
• तीर्थानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन (Plural)

• परमम्: supreme
• परमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण of तीर्थम्

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

• निर्मितम्: constructed; made
• निर्मितम्: Kriya (Result state/क्रिया-फल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-√मा (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘तीर्थम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• नारदेन: by Nārada
• नारदेन: Karana (Instrument/Agent in passive/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन (Singular)

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

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Naradeśvara

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya instructs Yudhiṣṭhira about a supreme ford named Naradeśvara; the Revā flows nearby, with a shrine/linga implied by the name ‘-īśvara’.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Naradeśvara
• Nārada
• Rājendra (King/listener)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is framed as a guided spiritual journey through graded sacred sites, with certain tīrthas praised as preeminent due to saintly establishment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Naradeśvara, declared ‘supreme among tīrthas’ and associated with the sage Nārada.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The prescription is pilgrimage/going (gacchet) to Naradeśvara as the next sacred destination.