Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

सन्तीह विविधोपाया नृणां देहविशोधनाः । तीर्थसेवासमं नास्ति स्वशरीरस्य शोधनम्

Transliteration

santīha vividhopāyā nṛṇāṃ dehaviśodhanāḥ | tīrthasevāsamaṃ nāsti svaśarīrasya śodhanam

Translation

วิธีชำระกายของมนุษย์มีหลากหลาย แต่การชำระตนผู้มีร่างกายไม่มีสิ่งใดเสมอด้วยการปรนนิบัติรับใช้ตีรถะ (สถานที่ศักดิ์สิทธิ์)

Word by Word

• santi: there are
• santi: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: लट् लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन (Plural), परस्मैपद

• iha: here
• iha: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (adverb of place)

• vividha-upāyāḥ: various means
• vividha-upāyāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vividha (प्रातिपदिक) + upāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (vividhaḥ upāyaḥ)

• nṛṇām: of men
• nṛṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन

• deha-viśodhanāḥ: purifying the body
• deha-viśodhanāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: deha (प्रातिपदिक) + viśodhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (dehasya viśodhanāḥ), ‘upāyāḥ’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• tīrtha-sevā-samam: equal to service of a tīrtha
• tīrtha-sevā-samam: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate qualifier/विधेयविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक) + sevā (प्रातिपदिक) + sama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (tīrthasya sevā) + ‘samam’ (equal to); विधेय-विशेषणम्

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय

• asti: exists
• asti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: लट् लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• sva-śarīrasya: of one’s own body
• sva-śarīrasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + śarīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (svasya śarīrasya)

• śodhanam: purification
• śodhanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śodhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (Revā Khaṇḍa narrative voice; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa in Purāṇic discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (Narmadā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpa (King)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Pilgrims serve at a river-ghāṭa: sweeping steps, offering lamps, helping elders bathe; the river appears as a goddess whose touch washes away dark stains from the body-mind.

Characters & Entities

• Tīrtha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Pilgrimage and reverent service at a tīrtha are portrayed as the supreme means of purification for embodied life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse praises tīrtha-sevā in general; within Revā Khaṇḍa it is implicitly tied to the sacred geography of the Revā (Narmadā) region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No single rite is prescribed here; the practice emphasized is tīrtha-sevā—devotional attendance and conduct at a sacred place.