Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

देवस्य सन्निधौ भूत्वा वर्णयामासुरुत्तमम् । इदं तीर्थं तु देवेश गयातीर्थेन ते समम्

Transliteration

devasya sannidhau bhūtvā varṇayāmāsuruttamam | idaṃ tīrthaṃ tu deveśa gayātīrthena te samam

Translation

Стоя в самом присутствии Владыки, они воспели высшую славу: «О Господь богов, этот тиртха равен по заслуге прославленному Гая-тиртхе».

Word by Word

• देवस्य: of the god
• देवस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे षष्ठी (6th/Genitive) एकवचनम्

• सन्निधौ: in the presence
• सन्निधौ: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सन्निधि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे सप्तमी (7th/Locative) एकवचनम्

• भूत्वा: having been
• भूत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययम् (gerund); 'having become/being'

• वर्णयामासुः: they described, they praised
• वर्णयामासुः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वर्णय् (धातु; √वर्ण् caus.)
• Form: लिट्-लकारः (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd), बहुवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• उत्तमम्: excellent, supreme
• उत्तमम्: Karma (Object-qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative) एकवचनम्; विशेषणम् (कर्मपदस्य)

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd) एकवचनम्; निर्देश-सर्वनाम

• तीर्थम्: sacred place
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd) एकवचनम्

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; निपातः

• देवेश: O Lord of gods
• देवेश: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवेश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे सम्बोधन (Vocative) एकवचनम्; समासः—देव + ईश (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: 'देवानाम् ईशः')

• गयातीर्थेन: with/compared to the Gayā-tīrtha
• गयातीर्थेन: Karana (Instrument/Standard of comparison)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गया + तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental) एकवचनम्; समासः—गया + तीर्थ (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: 'गयायाः तीर्थम्')

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे चतुर्थी (4th/Dative) एकवचनम्; 'to you'

• समम्: equal
• समम्: Karma (Predicate/Complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd) एकवचनम्; तुल्यवाचक-विशेषणम्

Speaker

Deductively: a Purāṇic narrator (likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa) recounting the māhātmya within Revā Khaṇḍa

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-khaṇḍa tīrtha proclaimed ‘Gayā-tīrtha-sama’

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A divine assembly: devas stand before the Lord at the tīrtha, offering formal praise; the river/confluence glows behind, and the words ‘equal to Gayā’ are visually suggested through symbolic offerings to ancestors (tilodaka) or a faint Gayā silhouette motif.

Characters & Entities

• Deveśa (Lord of gods)
• Gayā-tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha becomes supremely transformative when honored in the Lord’s presence and understood as equal in merit to renowned pilgrimage centers.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Revā Khaṇḍa tīrtha in the Narmadā sacred geography, explicitly compared to Gayā-tīrtha in sanctity.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; the verse focuses on praise (stuti/varṇana) and the tīrtha’s equivalence in merit.