Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

अपुत्रो लभते पुत्रमधनो धनमाप्नुयात् । राजेन्द्र कामदं तीर्थं नर्मदायां व्यवस्थितम्

Transliteration

aputro labhate putramadhano dhanamāpnuyāt | rājendra kāmadaṃ tīrthaṃ narmadāyāṃ vyavasthitam

Translation

ข้าแต่ราชาเหนือราชาทั้งหลาย ณ ตีรถะผู้ประทานความปรารถนา ซึ่งสถิตอยู่ในแม่น้ำนรมทา นี้ ผู้ไร้บุตรย่อมได้บุตร และผู้ขัดสนย่อมได้ทรัพย์

Word by Word

• अपुत्रः: a sonless man
• अपुत्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अ-पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक; उपसर्ग-निषेध)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• लभते: obtains
• लभते: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्

• पुत्रम्: a son
• पुत्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• अधनः: a poor man (without wealth)
• अधनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अ-धन (प्रातिपदिक; उपसर्ग-निषेध)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• धनम्: wealth
• धनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• आप्नुयात्: would obtain
• आप्नुयात्: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-आप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• राजेन्द्र: O king of kings
• राजेन्द्र: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज-इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (राज्ञाम् इन्द्रः)

• कामदम्: wish-granting
• कामदम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काम-द (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; तीर्थम् इति विशेषणम्; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (कामान् ददाति)

• तीर्थम्: sacred ford/pilgrimage place
• तीर्थम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• नर्मदायाम्: in/on the Narmadā (river)
• नर्मदायाम्: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• व्यवस्थितम्: situated/established
• व्यवस्थितम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-अव-स्था (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृत् (past passive participle, क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; तीर्थम् इति विशेषणम्

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (deduced from adjacent context in Revā Khaṇḍa narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāmadam Tīrtha (as described)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājendra (king of kings)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At a Narmadā ford labeled ‘Kāmadam’, supplicants—one childless couple and one poor householder—offer prayers and water-libations; the river-goddess and attendant devas bestow symbolic gifts: a cradle and a pot of coins/grain.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā
• Kāmadatīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Faith in a sanctified tīrtha aligned with dharma is praised as a means for legitimate worldly welfare (progeny, prosperity) within a sacred framework.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A Kāmadatīrtha (wish-fulfilling ford) situated on the river Narmadā, within the Revā Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit act is stated in this verse; it functions as a phalaśruti (benefit statement) for approaching/visiting the tīrtha.