Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

वीक्ष्यते जाह्नवी पुण्या देवैरुत्पादिता पुरा । स्नात्वा तत्र जलं दद्यात्तिलमिश्रं नराधिप

Transliteration

vīkṣyate jāhnavī puṇyā devairutpāditā purā | snātvā tatra jalaṃ dadyāttilamiśraṃ narādhipa

Translation

وہاں پُنّیہ جاہنوی (گنگا) کے درشن ہوتے ہیں، جسے قدیم زمانے میں دیوتاؤں نے ظاہر کیا تھا۔ اے نرادھپ! وہاں اشنان کرکے تل ملا ہوا جل ارپن کرنا چاہیے۔

Word by Word

• vīkṣyate: is seen; appears
• vīkṣyate: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √īkṣ (धातु) + vi- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular), आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (passive): "is seen/appears"

• jāhnavī: the river Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• jāhnavī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāhnavī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (sg.)

• puṇyā: holy, meritorious
• puṇyā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nom./1st), एकवचन (sg.); विशेषण (qualifier) of jāhnavī

• devaiḥ: by the gods
• devaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), तृतीया (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन (pl.)

• utpāditā: produced, brought forth
• utpāditā: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: utpādita (कृदन्त; √pad/√pād? causative from √pad/√pād in sense "to produce"; here as past passive participle from √pad/√pād/√jan? traditional: √pad (धातु) with ut- + causative)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा (Nom./1st), एकवचन (sg.); jāhnavī-विशेषण

• purā: formerly, in ancient times
• purā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• snātvā: having bathed
• snātvā: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √snā (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), पूर्वक्रिया: "having bathed"

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• jalam: water
• jalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (sg.)

• dadyāt: should give
• dadyāt: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dā (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (sg.), परस्मैपद; विधि/आदेश: "should give"

• tila-miśram: mixed with sesame
• tila-miśram: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tila (प्रातिपदिक) + miśra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (determinative): "tilaiḥ miśram"; नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), द्वितीया (Acc./2nd), एकवचन (sg.); jala-विशेषण

• narādhipa: O king (lord of men)
• narādhipa: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक) + adhipa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास: "narāṇām adhipaḥ"; पुंलिङ्ग (m.), सम्बोधन (Vocative/8th), एकवचन (sg.)

Speaker

Deductive (Revā-khaṇḍa narrator/ṛṣi addressing Narādhipa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā) tīrtha (as cited in Revākhaṇḍa itinerary)

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Narādhipa (king/ruler addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim-king at a luminous riverbank where Gaṅgā is envisioned as a divine presence; after bathing, he offers a cupped libation of water darkened with sesame, with priests and devas subtly implied in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• Devas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred rivers are embodiments of divine grace; bathing and offering libations there becomes a direct act of purification and ancestral duty.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā) is explicitly praised as a holy presence encountered in this tīrtha sequence.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Bathe (snāna) and then offer water mixed with sesame (tila) as a libation/ancestral offering.