Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । तस्यैवानन्तरं पार्थ सावित्रीतीर्थमुत्तमम् । यत्र सिद्धा महाभागा सावित्री वेदमातृका

Transliteration

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | tasyaivānantaraṃ pārtha sāvitrītīrthamuttamam | yatra siddhā mahābhāgā sāvitrī vedamātṛkā

Translation

శ్రీ మార్కండేయుడు పలికెను— దాని వెంటనే, హే పార్థ, ఉత్తమమైన సావిత్రీ తీర్థం ఉంది; అక్కడ మహాభాగ్యశాలిని, వేదమాత అయిన సావిత్రీ సిద్ధిని పొందింది।

Word by Word

• śrī-mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: the venerable Mārkaṇḍeya
• śrī-mārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī (प्रातिपदिक) + mārkaṇḍeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (श्रीमान् मार्कण्डेयः); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• tasya: of that/thereof
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• eva: indeed/just
• eva: Emphasis (Nipata/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphatic particle)

• anantaram: immediately after
• anantaram: Adhikarana/Time (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anantara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-प्रयोग (adverbial accusative) ‘immediately after’

• pārtha: O Pārtha
• pārtha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन

• sāvitrī-tīrtham: the Sāvitrī sacred ford
• sāvitrī-tīrtham: Karma/Pratipādya (Object/Topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāvitrī (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (सावित्र्याः तीर्थम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• uttamam: excellent/supreme
• uttamam: Karma qualifier (कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (tīrtha-विशेषण)

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्बन्धाव्यय (relative locative adverb)

• siddhā: accomplished/perfected
• siddhā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: siddhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

• mahā-bhāgā: greatly fortunate
• mahā-bhāgā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण

• sāvitrī: Sāvitrī
• sāvitrī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāvitrī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• veda-mātṛkā: mother of the Veda
• veda-mātṛkā: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक) + mātṛkā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वेदस्य मातृका); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; उपाधि/विशेषणार्थे

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sāvitrī Tīrtha

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sage Mārkaṇḍeya narrates; the scene shifts to an ‘uttama’ Sāvitrī Tīrtha where Sāvitrī (personified mantra-deity) shines with Vedic radiance, attended by subtle Vedic meters and fire-altar symbolism.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Pārtha (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Sāvitrī
• Sāvitrī-tīrtha
• Veda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha is sanctified by realized presence: Sāvitrī’s siddhi makes the place a living conduit of Vedic merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Sāvitrī-tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated here; it introduces the tīrtha and its sanctifying legend.