Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

त्रिकूटेति किमर्थं वा किमर्थं वालुवाहिनी । कोटिकोट्यो हि तीर्थानां प्रविष्टा या महार्णवम्

Transliteration

trikūṭeti kimarthaṃ vā kimarthaṃ vāluvāhinī | koṭikoṭyo hi tīrthānāṃ praviṣṭā yā mahārṇavam

Translation

她为何名为“三峰”（Trikūṭā），又为何称“载沙者”（Vāluvāhinī）？无量无数的圣地（tīrtha）皆汇入于她，而她又融入大海——请为我开示其义。

Word by Word

• त्रिकूटा-इति: (called) Trikūṭā
• त्रिकूटा-इति: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिकूटा (प्रातिपदिक) + इति (अव्यय)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘इति’ नामनिर्देशः

• किमर्थम्: for what reason
• किमर्थम्: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किमर्थम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय

• किमर्थम्: for what reason
• किमर्थम्: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किमर्थम् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय

• वालु-वाहिनी: the sand-carrying (river)
• वालु-वाहिनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वालु (प्रातिपदिक) + वाहिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वालूनां वाहिनी)

• कोटि-कोट्यः: crores upon crores
• कोटि-कोट्यः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कोटि (प्रातिपदिक) + कोटि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (कोटयश्च कोटयश्च)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic/causal particle)

• तीर्थानाम्: of the sacred fords/pilgrimage places
• तीर्थानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• प्रविष्टा: entered
• प्रविष्टा: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-विश् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मणि (passive sense)

• या: which (she)
• या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• महा-अर्णवम्: the great ocean
• महा-अर्णवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महान् अर्णवः)

Speaker

An inquiring sage (listener) within the Revā Khaṇḍa dialogue

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-sāgara-saṅgama (Narmadā–ocean confluence)

Type: sangam

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: muni (questioner)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A grand confluence scene: Narmadā as a goddess-river flowing into the ocean; countless miniature tīrtha-icons (liṅgas, śālagrāmas, ghāṭa steps, sacred trees) stream into her current; above, the name Trikūṭā and Vāluvāhinī are inscribed as symbolic banners.

Characters & Entities

• Trikūṭā
• Vāluvāhinī
• Tīrtha
• Mahārṇava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A supreme tīrtha can be envisioned as an aggregate of sanctity—many holy places are said to converge into it, magnifying pilgrimage merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Revā/Narmadā as the great tīrtha into which innumerable tīrthas are poetically said to merge.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None stated; the verse exalts the river’s tīrtha-status through mythic geography.