Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

तत्तेऽहं सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि शृणु यत्नेन पाण्डव । दुर्भिक्षोपहता विप्रा नर्मदां तु समाश्रिताः

Transliteration

tatte'haṃ sampravakṣyāmi śṛṇu yatnena pāṇḍava | durbhikṣopahatā viprā narmadāṃ tu samāśritāḥ

Translation

Isso eu te direi agora; escuta com diligência, ó Pāṇḍava. Atingidos pela fome, os brāhmaṇas buscaram refúgio às margens do Narmadā.

Word by Word

• तत्: that (matter)
• तत्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; निर्देश-सर्वनाम

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradāna (Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative/4th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि: I will fully tell/explain
• सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-प्र-वच् (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), उत्तम-पुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• शृणु: listen
• शृणु: Kriyā (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यम-पुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• यत्नेन: with effort; carefully
• यत्नेन: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa/Karaṇa (Manner/Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यत्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन

• पाण्डव: O Pāṇḍava
• पाण्डव: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• दुर्भिक्षोपहताः: struck by famine
• दुर्भिक्षोपहताः: Karta (Qualifier of विप्राः)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्भिक्ष + उपहत (कृदन्त; हन् धातु + क्त, उप-उपसर्ग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तृतीया/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थे (दुर्भिक्षेण उपहताः)

• विप्राः: Brahmins
• विप्राः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• नर्मदाम्: Narmadā (river)
• नर्मदाम्: Karma (Object of ‘resorted to’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• तु: but; indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण/विरोध (particle: ‘but/indeed’)

• समाश्रिताः: having resorted to; having taken refuge in
• समाश्रिताः: Kriyā (Predicate; describing viprāḥ)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-श्रि (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (having taken refuge/resorted)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to a royal addressee within the story (Pāṇḍava); outer frame to sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) bank; leads into Ravītīrtha episode

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pāṇḍava

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of brāhmaṇas, thin from famine, arrive at the Narmadā bank with waterpots and staffs, setting up a simple riverside āśrama; a narrator addresses a Pāṇḍava listener.

Characters & Entities

• Pāṇḍava
• Vipras (Brāhmaṇas)
• Narmadā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In times of crisis, the tradition portrays holy rivers and tīrthas as shelters where dharma can be preserved and renewed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Narmadā region is introduced as the setting; the adhyāya centers on Ravitīrtha within the Revā (Narmadā) sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated; the verse sets the narrative circumstance (famine) leading to tīrtha-dependence.