Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

गङ्गा कनखले पुण्या कुरुक्षेत्रे सरस्वती । ग्रामे वा यदि वारण्ये पुण्या सर्वत्र नर्मदा

Transliteration

gaṅgā kanakhale puṇyā kurukṣetre sarasvatī | grāme vā yadi vāraṇye puṇyā sarvatra narmadā

Translation

ଗଙ୍ଗା କନଖଲରେ ପୁଣ୍ୟ, ସରସ୍ୱତୀ କୁରୁକ୍ଷେତ୍ରରେ ପୁଣ୍ୟ; କିନ୍ତୁ ନର୍ମଦା ଗ୍ରାମେ ହେଉ କି ଅରଣ୍ୟେ—ସର୍ବତ୍ର ପୁଣ୍ୟମୟ।

Word by Word

• गङ्गा: Gaṅgā
• गङ्गा: Kartr (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्ता/विषय

• कनखले: at Kanakhala
• कनखले: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कनखल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• पुण्या: holy
• पुण्या: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणं गङ्गा-शब्दस्य

• कुरुक्षेत्रे: at Kurukṣetra
• कुरुक्षेत्रे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरु + क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• सरस्वती: Sarasvatī
• सरस्वती: Kartr (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्ता/विषय

• ग्रामे: in a village
• ग्रामे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्राम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण

• वा: or
• वा: Connector (विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्प (disjunctive particle)

• यदि: if
• यदि: Discourse particle (शर्त)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्त (conditional particle)

• वारण्ये: in the forest
• वारण्ये: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अरण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; अधिकरण; 'in the forest'

• पुण्या: holy
• पुण्या: Visheshana (Adjectival)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणं नर्मदा-शब्दस्य

• सर्वत्र: everywhere
• सर्वत्र: Adverbial (देशाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb); 'everywhere'

• नर्मदा: Narmadā
• नर्मदा: Kartr (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्ता/विषय

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Narmadā (Revā)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A comparative tableau: Gaṅgā shining at Kanakhala, Sarasvatī revered at Kurukṣetra, while Narmadā flows through both village and forest, equally radiant everywhere.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Kanakhala
• Sarasvatī
• Kurukṣetra
• Narmadā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holiness may be location-specific for some rivers, but Narmadā is presented as universally purifying.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Narmadā in her entirety; also references Kanakhala (Gaṅgā) and Kurukṣetra (Sarasvatī) as famed sanctified zones.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite; the verse establishes constant sanctity, supporting darśana and snāna anywhere along Narmadā.