Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 27

Devanagari script

महता चापि वेगेन यस्मादेषा समुच्छ्रिता । महती तेन सा प्रोक्ता महादेवान्महीपते

Transliteration

mahatā cāpi vegena yasmādeṣā samucchritā | mahatī tena sā proktā mahādevānmahīpate

Translation

เพราะนางผุดขึ้นด้วยแรงเชี่ยวอันยิ่งใหญ่ จึงได้ชื่อว่า ‘มหตี’ ดังนี้มหาเทวะได้ประกาศไว้ โอ้พระราชา

Word by Word

• महता: with great
• महता: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective of instrument)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; वेगेन इति विशेषण (with great)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction: and)

• अपि: also/even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्भावना/समुच्चय/अवधारणार्थक (also/even)

• वेगेन: by speed/force
• वेगेन: Karana (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन (instrumental singular)

• यस्मात्: because
• यस्मात्: Hetu/Apadana (Cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; हेतुवाचक (because)

• एषा: this (she/river)
• एषा: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• समुच्छ्रिता: rose up/swelled
• समुच्छ्रिता: Kriyā (Predicate participle of subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + उत् + श्रि (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, PPP); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; “risen up/lofted”

• महती: great (as name/epithet)
• महती: Karma (Predicate complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; नामरूपेण (as a designation)

• तेन: therefore
• तेन: Hetu (Cause marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययप्राय; तृतीया-एकवचनरूपेण हेत्वर्थे (therefore/for that reason)

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• प्रोक्ता: was called
• प्रोक्ता: Kriyā (Predicate participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + वच् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, PPP); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; “was called/said”

• महादेवात्: from Mahādeva
• महादेवात्: Apadana (Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन (ablative: from Mahādeva)

• महीपते: O king
• महीपते: Sambodhana (Vocative address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही (प्रातिपदिक) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (महीपते = lord of the earth)

Speaker

Narrator (addressing a King; story framed as Mahādeva’s statement)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahatī (epithet of Revā/Narmadā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (mahīpate)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mahādeva declares the river’s name while the river rises in a towering, energetic swell; the king/listener is implied in the narrative frame; the scene emphasizes proclamation and power.

Characters & Entities

• Mahādeva (Śiva)
• Narmadā/Revā (as Mahatī)
• King (listener, unnamed in snippet)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Names in Purāṇic tradition encode spiritual history; the river’s epithet memorializes her divinely empowered force.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Narmadā herself is glorified through her sacred name ‘Mahatī’, implying her tīrtha-status across her course.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse provides nāma-māhātmya (the glorification of a sacred name).