Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 41

Devanagari script

अशीतिश्च यवाः प्रोक्ता गङ्गायामुनसङ्गमे । कावेरीनर्मदायोगे तदेवाष्टगुणं स्मृतम्

Transliteration

aśītiśca yavāḥ proktā gaṅgāyāmunasaṅgame | kāverīnarmadāyoge tadevāṣṭaguṇaṃ smṛtam

Translation

கங்கை-யமுனை சங்கமத்தில் எண்பது யவம் (பார்லி) அர்ப்பணம் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது; காவேரி-நர்மதா யோகத்தில் அதே புண்ணியம் எட்டுமடங்கு என ஸ்மிருதி நினைக்கிறது।

Word by Word

• aśītiḥ: eighty
• aśītiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśīti (प्रातिपदिक/संख्या)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; numeral 'eighty' used substantively

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय

• yavāḥ: barley grains
• yavāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• proktāḥ: are stated
• proktāḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु) → prokta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; passive sense: 'are said'

• gaṅgā-yamunā-saṅgame: at the confluence of Gaṅgā and Yamunā
• gaṅgā-yamunā-saṅgame: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक) + yamunā (प्रातिपदिक) + saṅgama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (गङ्गायमुनयोः सङ्गमः), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• kāverī-narmadā-yoge: at the conjunction/meeting of Kāverī and Narmadā
• kāverī-narmadā-yoge: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāverī (प्रातिपदिक) + narmadā (प्रातिपदिक) + yoga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (कावेरीनर्मदयोः योगः), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• eva: indeed / exactly
• eva: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय

• aṣṭa-guṇam: eightfold
• aṣṭa-guṇam: Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭa (संख्या) + guṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; predicate adjective

• smṛtam: is declared
• smṛtam: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (धातु) → smṛta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; impersonal passive: 'is considered/said'

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Skanda Purana narrative framework)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prayāga-saṅgama; Kāverī–Narmadā-yoga tīrtha (as per text)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a confluence ghāṭ, a donor pours barley (yava) into a brāhmaṇa’s hands or into a ritual vessel; two rivers meet behind; a symbolic ‘8’ motif or eight lamps indicate aṣṭaguṇa merit.

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā
• Yamunā
• Kāverī
• Narmadā
• yava (barley)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Confluences (saṅgamas) are powerful spiritual nodes; dāna and snāna there yield multiplied merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāverī–Narmadā confluence is praised as granting eightfold merit compared to the standard prescription at Gaṅgā–Yamunā saṅgama.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Yava-dāna (offering/donation of barley), with special emphasis on enhanced merit at the Kāverī–Narmadā saṅgama.