Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

श्रीमार्कण्डेय उवाच । ततो गच्छेच्च राजेन्द्र कपिलातीर्थमुत्तमम् । स्नानमात्रान्नरो भक्त्या मुच्यते सर्वकिल्बिषैः

Transliteration

śrīmārkaṇḍeya uvāca | tato gacchecca rājendra kapilātīrthamuttamam | snānamātrānnaro bhaktyā mucyate sarvakilbiṣaiḥ

Translation

శ్రీ మార్కండేయుడు పలికెను—హే రాజేంద్రా! ఆపై ఉత్తమ కపిలా తీర్థమునకు వెళ్లవలెను. అక్కడ కేవలం స్నానమాత్రముచేతనే, భక్తియుతుడు సమస్త పాపకల్మషముల నుండి విముక్తుడగును.

Word by Word

• śrīmārkaṇḍeyaḥ: the venerable Mārkaṇḍeya
• śrīmārkaṇḍeyaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī (प्रातिपदिक) + mārkaṇḍeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; (श्रीमान् मार्कण्डेयः)

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• tataḥ: then; thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक-निबद्ध)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), ततः = then/thereafter

• gacchet: should go
• gacchet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

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

• rājendra: O king of kings
• rājendra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; पुंलिङ्ग; (राज्ञाम् इन्द्रः)

• kapilā-tīrtham: the Kapilā ford (tīrtha)
• kapilā-tīrtham: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapilā (प्रातिपदिक) + tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; (कपिलायाः तीर्थम्)

• uttamam: excellent; best
• uttamam: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying tīrtham)

• snāna-mātrāt: from mere bathing
• snāna-mātrāt: Apadana (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक) + mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; (स्नानस्य मात्रम्; तस्मात्)

• naraḥ: a man
• naraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• bhaktyā: with devotion
• bhaktyā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• mucyate: is freed
• mucyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: muc (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive sense)

• sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ: from all sins
• sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ: Apadana (Separation/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + kilbiṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; (सर्वाणि किल्बिषाणि)

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapilā Tīrtha

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: rājendra (Yudhiṣṭhira in the Mahābhārata-linked frame)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya instructs a king: a pilgrim approaches a serene river ford labeled Kapilā Tīrtha, steps into the water with folded hands; dark stains (symbolic sins) dissolve into the current.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Kapilā-tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion (bhakti) joined with a simple sacred act like bathing at a tīrtha can cleanse accumulated moral impurity and reorient one toward dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kapilā-tīrtha, praised in the Revā Khaṇḍa as an excellent pilgrimage spot connected to the Narmadā sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (ritual bathing) at Kapilā-tīrtha, explicitly said to grant purification when performed with devotion.