Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

महागजैर्घमहिषैर्वराहैः संसेविते देवि महोर्मिमाले । नताः स्म सर्वे वरदे सुखप्रदे विमोचयास्मान्पशुपाशबन्धात्

Transliteration

mahāgajairghamahiṣairvarāhaiḥ saṃsevite devi mahormimāle | natāḥ sma sarve varade sukhaprade vimocayāsmānpaśupāśabandhāt

Translation

ข้าแต่เทวี ผู้ทรงพวงมาลัยแห่งคลื่นอันยิ่งใหญ่ ผู้มีช้างใหญ่ ควายทรงพลัง และหมูป่าเป็นบริวาร ข้าทั้งปวงขอนอบน้อมแด่พระองค์ โอ้ผู้ประทานพรและประทานสุข โปรดปลดเปลื้องเราจากพันธนาการบ่วงแห่งปศุ-ปาศะ

Word by Word

• महागजैः: by great elephants
• महागजैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महागज (प्रातिपदिक) = महा + गज
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन — Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural

• घमहिषैः: by mighty buffaloes
• घमहिषैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: घमहिष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन — Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural

• वराहैः: by boars
• वराहैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वराह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), बहुवचन — Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural

• संसेविते: in (you) who are frequented/attended
• संसेविते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + सेव् (धातु) → संसेवित (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: सप्तमी, एकवचन; स्त्रीलिङ्गे संबोधन-सम्बन्धः (हे देवि) — Locative (7th), Singular; past passive participle used adjectivally

• देवि: O Goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8th), एकवचन — Feminine, Vocative, Singular

• महोर्मिमाले: O garland of great waves
• महोर्मिमाले: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महोर्मिमाला (प्रातिपदिक) = महा + ऊर्मि + माला
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8th), एकवचन — Feminine, Vocative, Singular

• नताः: bowed down
• नताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नम् (धातु) → नत (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural; past passive participle used predicatively

• स्म: indeed/then (particle)
• स्म: None
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्म (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात; भूतार्थे/स्मरणार्थे पदपूरण — particle indicating past/recollection/emphasis

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural

• वरदे: O giver of boons
• वरदे: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वरदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8th), एकवचन — Feminine, Vocative, Singular

• सुखप्रदे: O bestower of happiness
• सुखप्रदे: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुखप्रदा (प्रातिपदिक) = सुख + प्रदा
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, संबोधन (8th), एकवचन — Feminine, Vocative, Singular

• विमोचय: release
• विमोचय: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — Imperative, 2nd person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अस्मान्: us
• अस्मान्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन — Pronoun, Accusative (2nd), Plural

• पशुपाशबन्धात्: from the bondage of animal-nooses (bondage like a beast’s tether)
• पशुपाशबन्धात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पशुपाशबन्ध (प्रातिपदिक) = पशु + पाश + बन्ध
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (अपादान), एकवचन — Masculine, Ablative (5th), Singular

Speaker

Devotees/pilgrims (stuti within Revā-māhātmya context; exact speaker not specified in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devotees with folded hands stand on a riverbank before the wave-garlanded Devī-River; around her banks appear emblematic great elephants, buffaloes, and boars as attendants of the wild and the royal; the river’s waves form a luminous mālā as she grants release from a symbolic noose.

Characters & Entities

• Revā/Narmadā
• Elephants
• Buffaloes
• Boars
• Paśu-pāśa (bondage motif)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The river is invoked not only for worldly blessings but for release from deep existential bondage, aligning tīrtha-worship with liberation theology.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā (Narmadā), envisioned as a powerful, wave-garlanded Devī whose presence sanctifies the natural world.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A liberation-prayer is explicit—“release us from bondage”—supporting practices of snāna, vows, and devotional surrender at the river.