Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

सङ्गमो नीलगङ्गायाः विध्वंसस्त्रिपुरस्य च । कीर्तनं तीर्थदानानां मधुकतृतीयाव्रतम्

Transliteration

saṅgamo nīlagaṅgāyāḥ vidhvaṃsastripurasya ca | kīrtanaṃ tīrthadānānāṃ madhukatṛtīyāvratam

Translation

ఇక్కడ నీలగంగ సంగమము, త్రిపుర విధ్వంస వృత్తాంతము; తీర్థదానముల కీర్తనము మరియు మధు-కతృతీయా వ్రత విధానము చెప్పబడెను।

Word by Word

• सङ्गमः: confluence, meeting-place
• सङ्गमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सङ्गम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• नीलगङ्गायाः: of the Nīlagangā
• नीलगङ्गायाः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नीलगङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; समासः—नीला + गङ्गा (कर्मधारय)

• विध्वंसः: destruction
• विध्वंसः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विध्वंस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• त्रिपुरस्य: of Tripura
• त्रिपुरस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिपुर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Coordination/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• कीर्तनम्: praise, recitation
• कीर्तनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कीर्तन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तीर्थदानानाम्: of the gifts (given) at sacred places
• तीर्थदानानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थदान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; समासः—तीर्थ + दान (षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष)

• मधुकतृतीयाव्रतम्: the Madhu-ka-Tṛtīyā vow
• मधुकतृतीयाव्रतम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मधुक + तृतीया + व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—मधुकतृतीया + व्रत (तत्पुरुष)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced, Revā Khaṇḍa tīrtha-māhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Nīlagāṅgā-saṅgama

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/śaunaka-ādi (frame implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A confluence where a blue-hued tributary (Nīlagāṅgā) meets the main river; pilgrims offer arghya. In the sky/upper register, Śiva’s Tripura-dahana is evoked as a mythic vignette; in the foreground, dāna is given and a vrata is vowed.

Characters & Entities

• Nīlagāṅgā
• Nīlagāṅgā Saṅgama
• Tripura
• Tripura-vadha (destruction of Tripura)
• Tīrtha-dāna
• Madhu-katṛtīyā Vrata

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage is completed by dharma-practice: tīrtha remembrance is paired with charity (dāna) and vrata, and anchored in Śaiva sacred history.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The confluence (saṅgama) of the Nīlagāṅgā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tīrtha-related dāna (charitable gifting) and the Madhu-katṛtīyā vrata (a third-day lunar observance).