Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

नामनिर्वचनं तद्वत्तथा कल्पसमुद्भवाः । एकविंशतिकल्पानां तद्वन्नामानुकीर्तनम्

Transliteration

nāmanirvacanaṃ tadvattathā kalpasamudbhavāḥ | ekaviṃśatikalpānāṃ tadvannāmānukīrtanam

Translation

नामनिर्वचनं तद्वत् तथा कल्पसमुद्भवाः । एकविंशतिकल्पानां तद्वन्नामानुकीर्तनम् ॥

Word by Word

• nāma-nirvacanam: etymological explanation of the name
• nāma-nirvacanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāma (प्रातिपदिक) + nirvacana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नाम्नः निर्वचनम्)

• tadvat: likewise
• tadvat: Avyaya (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadvat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (adverb: 'likewise/in the same way')

• tathā: and also; thus
• tathā: Avyaya (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/क्रमवाचक (and also/thus)

• kalpa-samudbhavāḥ: those arising from the kalpas
• kalpa-samudbhavāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpa (प्रातिपदिक) + samudbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कल्पात् समुद्भवाः)

• ekaviṃśati-kalpānām: of the twenty-one kalpas
• ekaviṃśati-kalpānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ekaviṃśati (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; द्विगु-समासः (एकविंशतिः कल्पाः)

• tadvat: likewise
• tadvat: Avyaya (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadvat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (likewise)

• nāma-anukīrtanam: recitation/mentioning of the names
• nāma-anukīrtanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāma (प्रातिपदिक) + anukīrtana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (नाम्नाम् अनुकīर्तनम्)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced) giving a contents-summary

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) — topical preface

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage-narrator enumerates Purāṇic topics: etymologies of sacred names, their kalpa-origins, and the recitation of twenty-one kalpa names; palm-leaf manuscripts and a cosmic diagram (brahmāṇḍa) appear behind.

Characters & Entities

• Kalpa (cosmic aeon)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is tied to cosmic time: names, places, and their glory are rooted in kalpa-based Purāṇic memory.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha; it announces explanatory material (name-derivations and kalpa-origins) used to sanctify many sites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse signals doctrinal/cosmological context rather than a rite.