Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

जाह्नवी वैष्णवी गङ्गा ब्राह्मी गङ्गा सरस्वती । इयं माहेश्वरी गङ्गा रेवा नास्त्यत्र संशयः

Transliteration

jāhnavī vaiṣṇavī gaṅgā brāhmī gaṅgā sarasvatī | iyaṃ māheśvarī gaṅgā revā nāstyatra saṃśayaḥ

Translation

ชาห์นวีคือคงคาไวษณวี; สรัสวตีคือคงคาพราหมี และเรวานี้เองคือคงคามาเหศวรี—ปราศจากข้อสงสัยใดๆ

Word by Word

• जाह्नवी: Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• जाह्नवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāhnavī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नदी-नाम

• वैष्णवी: Vaiṣṇavī (Viṣṇu-related)
• वैष्णवी: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaiṣṇavī (प्रातिपदिक; विष्णु-सम्बन्धिनी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• गङ्गा: Gaṅgā
• गङ्गा: Samjna/Predicate nominal (संज्ञा/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• ब्राह्मी: Brāhmī (Brahmā-related)
• ब्राह्मी: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brāhmī (प्रातिपदिक; ब्रह्म-सम्बन्धिनी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• गङ्गा: Gaṅgā
• गङ्गा: Samjna/Predicate nominal (संज्ञा/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सरस्वती: Sarasvatī
• सरस्वती: Samjna/Predicate nominal (संज्ञा/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarasvatī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नदी-नाम

• इयम्: this (river)
• इयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• माहेश्वरी: Maheśvara-related
• माहेश्वरी: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: māheśvarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण

• गङ्गा: Gaṅgā
• गङ्गा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• रेवा: Revā (Narmadā)
• रेवा: Samjna/Predicate nominal (संज्ञा/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: revā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नदी-नाम

• न: not
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• अस्ति: is/exists
• अस्ति: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrative voice within Revā Khaṇḍa (speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Tri-river sanctity mapping (Gaṅgā–Sarasvatī–Revā)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira (Bhārata)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Three river-goddesses appear as a triad: Jāhnavī with Vaiṣṇava emblems, Sarasvatī with vīṇā/veda, and Revā with Śaiva marks; a narrator asserts ‘no doubt’ about Revā’s Māheśvarī identity.

Characters & Entities

• Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• Viṣṇu
• Brahmā
• Sarasvatī
• Maheśvara (Śiva)
• Revā (Narmadā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred rivers embody divine power; Revā (Narmadā) is affirmed as Śiva’s own ‘Gaṅgā’, worthy of the highest reverence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Revā/Narmadā, identified as the Māheśvarī Gaṅgā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse is a doctrinal identification supporting pilgrimage faith and tīrtha-practice.