Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

इति कथितमिदं ते शूलभेदस्य पुण्यं महिमन हि मनुष्यैः श्रूयते यत्सपापैः । मदनरिपुतटिन्या याम्यकूलस्थितस्य प्रबलदुरितकन्दोच्छेदकुद्दालकल्पम्

Transliteration

iti kathitamidaṃ te śūlabhedasya puṇyaṃ mahimana hi manuṣyaiḥ śrūyate yatsapāpaiḥ | madanariputaṭinyā yāmyakūlasthitasya prabaladuritakandocchedakuddālakalpam

Translation

ดังนี้ได้กล่าวแก่ท่านถึงบุญอันศักดิ์สิทธิ์และมหิมาแห่งศูลเภทะ—ซึ่งแม้ผู้แบกบาปก็ยังอาจได้สดับฟังได้ ตั้งอยู่ ณ ฝั่งใต้แห่งแม่น้ำของผู้เป็นศัตรูแห่งมทนะ (พระศิวะ) คือเรวา เปรียบดังจอบที่ขุดถอนปมรากแห่งบาปอันแรงกล้า

Word by Word

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इत्यादि-निर्देशक (quotative particle)

• kathitam: told/related
• kathitam: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa/Predicative (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kath (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त) past participle; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; predicate ‘told’

• idam: this
• idam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• te: to you
• te: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी, एकवचन; enclitic pronoun; here dative ‘to you’

• śūla-bhedasya: of the piercing/splitting by the trident
• śūla-bhedasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūla (प्रातिपदिक) + bheda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (śūlasya bhedaḥ)

• puṇyam: merit; holy (account)
• puṇyam: Karma/Predicative (कर्म/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• mahiman: O great one
• mahiman: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahiman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• manuṣyaiḥ: by men
• manuṣyaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manuṣya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; instrumental

• śrūyate: is heard
• śrūyate: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• yat: which
• yat: Karma/Anvaya (अन्वय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; relative pronoun referring to ‘idam/puṇyam’

• sa-pāpaiḥ: by the sinful (people)
• sa-pāpaiḥ: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sa (उपसर्ग/पूर्वपद) + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (सह-पापैः = with sins; ‘sinful’)

• madana-ripu-taṭinyā: by/with the river of the foe of Kāma (i.e., Gaṅgā)
• madana-ripu-taṭinyā: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madana (प्रातिपदिक) + ripu (प्रातिपदिक) + taṭinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (madanasya ripuḥ = Śiva; tasya taṭinī = river)

• yāmya-kūla-sthitasya: of (him/that) situated on the southern bank
• yāmya-kūla-sthitasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yāmya (प्रातिपदिक) + kūla (प्रातिपदिक) + sthita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (yāmye kūle sthitaḥ)

• prabala-durita-kanda-ucchheda-kuddāla-kalpam: like a spade that uproots the root of mighty sin
• prabala-durita-kanda-ucchheda-kuddāla-kalpam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prabala (प्रातिपदिक) + durita (प्रातिपदिक) + kanda (प्रातिपदिक) + ucchheda (प्रातिपदिक) + kuddāla (प्रातिपदिक) + kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः—‘prabala-durita-kanda’ (strong-sin-root) + ‘ucchheda-kuddāla’ (spade for uprooting) + ‘kalpa’ (like)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Śūlabheda

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: नृप (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Revā river flowing; on its southern bank stands the Śūlabheda tīrtha-marker/linga-shrine; Śiva’s presence is implied; a symbolic mattock strikes the earth, uprooting dark root-knots labeled ‘pāpa’.

Characters & Entities

• Śūlabheda (tīrtha)
• Madana-ripu (Śiva)
• Revā (Narmadā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A tīrtha’s greatness is measured by its power to cut the root of sin; even those burdened with wrongdoing are invited to hear and be transformed.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Śūlabheda-tīrtha, described as being on the southern bank of the Revā (Narmadā).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa (hearing) of the māhātmya is explicitly praised; the tīrtha is also characterized as pāpa-nāśaka (sin-destroying), implying pilgrimage and worship there.