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

لوگوں کے لیے بدن کی پاکیزگی کے بہت سے طریقے ہیں، مگر تیرتھ کی سیوا کے برابر اپنے جسمانی وجود کی تطہیر کوئی نہیں۔

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.