Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

प्रणम्य शिरसा भूमिमागतोऽसौ ह्यचेतनः । नर्मदातटमाश्रित्य कर्षयन्निजविग्रहम्

Transliteration

praṇamya śirasā bhūmimāgato'sau hyacetanaḥ | narmadātaṭamāśritya karṣayannijavigraham

Translation

เขาก้มศีรษะลงแตะพื้นกราบไหว้ แล้วมาถึงที่นั้นราวกับหมดสติ; อาศัยฝั่งแม่น้ำนรมทา เขาลากกายของตนไปอย่างยากลำบาก

Word by Word

• प्रणम्य: having bowed
• प्रणम्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+नम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund): ‘having bowed’

• शिरसा: with (his) head
• शिरसा: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन

• भूमिम्: the ground/earth
• भूमिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• आगतः: came/arrived
• आगतः: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया-भाव)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ+गम् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘having come/arrived’

• असौ: he/that one
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun ‘that/he’

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha-bodhaka (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात/particle): ‘indeed/for’

• अचेतनः: unconscious
• अचेतनः: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ + चेतन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; नञ्-तत्पुरुष (negation as prefix): ‘unconscious/insentient’

• नर्मदातटम्: the bank of the Narmadā
• नर्मदातटम्: Karma (Object of gerund/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर्मदा + तट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘नर्मदायाः तटम्’

• आश्रित्य: having resorted to
• आश्रित्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ+श्रि (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund): ‘having resorted to/taken refuge’

• कर्षयन्: dragging
• कर्षयन्: Karta (Concurrent action/कर्ता-समकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृष् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘dragging/pulling’

• निजविग्रहम्: his own body
• निजविग्रहम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निज + विग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; कर्मधारय: ‘निजः विग्रहः’

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (continuing the tīrtha-narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Narmadā (Revā)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (implicit)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee collapses into full prostration, forehead to earth, appearing senseless; he crawls/drag-walks toward the Narmadā bank, the river shimmering as a compassionate refuge.

Characters & Entities

• Narmadā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True pilgrimage is marked by humility and surrender, even when the body is exhausted.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Narmadā riverbank setting that leads into the Dārutīrtha glorification in Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse emphasizes the pilgrim’s humbled approach and endurance.