Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 34

Devanagari script

कल्पवृक्षसमाकीर्णा रोहीतकसमाकुला । वहत्येषा च मन्देन तेन मन्दाकिनी स्मृता

Transliteration

kalpavṛkṣasamākīrṇā rohītakasamākulā | vahatyeṣā ca mandena tena mandākinī smṛtā

Translation

وہ کَلپ وَرِکشوں سے بھری ہوئی اور روہیتک درختوں سے گھنی ہے؛ اور وہ دھیمی رفتار سے بہتی ہے، اسی لیے وہ ‘منداکنی’—نرم رو، جنتی سی ندی—کہلاتی ہے۔

Word by Word

• kalpa-vṛkṣa-samākīrṇā: strewn with wish-fulfilling trees
• kalpa-vṛkṣa-samākīrṇā: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kalpa-vṛkṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + samākīrṇā (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP from सम्+√kṝ/√kīr ‘to scatter’), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — nominative singular; विशेषण

• rohītaka-samākulā: filled with rohītaka trees
• rohītaka-samākulā: Visheshana (Adjectival modifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rohītaka (प्रातिपदिक) + samākulā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — nominative singular; विशेषण

• vahati: flows
• vahati: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद — ‘flows/carries’

• eṣā: this (river/she)
• eṣā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — nominative singular

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय — conjunction ‘and’

• mandena: slowly/gently
• mandena: Karana (Manner/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: manda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन — instrumental singular; क्रियाविशेषणभाव (adverbial instrumental) ‘slowly’

• tena: therefore/by that
• tena: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन — instrumental singular (therefore/by that)

• mandākinī: Mandākinī (name of the river)
• mandākinī: Pratipādya (Predicate nominative/प्रातिपाद्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mandākinī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — nominative singular (name)

• smṛtā: is called
• smṛtā: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘is called/remembered’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Revā Khaṇḍa narrative style within Skanda Purāṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) — Mandākinī aspect

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene, gently flowing river bordered by lush groves; kalpavṛkṣa-like trees heavy with blossoms and gifts; rohītaka trees dense along the bank; pilgrims sit in meditation as the river glides softly.

Characters & Entities

• Revā (Narmadā)
• Mandākinī
• Kalpavṛkṣa
• Rohītaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred geography is itself theology: the divine river’s gentle flow and blessed riverbanks reveal her heavenly nature.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā/Narmadā and her riverbanks described as a paradisical tīrtha-region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse functions as māhātmya praise encouraging pilgrimage, reverence, and bathing by implication.