Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

ततो महामेघविवर्धमानमीशानमिन्द्राशनिभिर्वृताङ्गम् । ददर्श नाहं भयविह्वलाङ्गो गङ्गाजलौघैश्च समावृताङ्गः

Transliteration

tato mahāmeghavivardhamānamīśānamindrāśanibhirvṛtāṅgam | dadarśa nāhaṃ bhayavihvalāṅgo gaṅgājalaughaiśca samāvṛtāṅgaḥ

Translation

ثم رأيتُ إيشانا (Īśāna) يزداد ظهورًا وسط سُحُبٍ هائلة، وجسده مُحاطٌ بصواعق إندرا كالفَجْرَة (الفَجْرَة) كالفَجْرَة؟. وأنا مرتجفٌ من الخوف، أبصرته أيضًا مغمورًا بسيول مياه الغانغا.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriyavisheshana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—क्रम/हेतुवाचक (adverb: ‘then/thereupon’)

• महामेघविवर्धमानम्: increasing with great clouds
• महामेघविवर्धमानम्: Visheshana (to ईशानम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + मेघ (प्रातिपदिक) + वि-वर्ध् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शानच्), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण—‘growing with great clouds / greatly increasing as clouds’

• ईशानम्: Īśāna (the Lord)
• ईशानम्: Karma (Object of ददर्श)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईशान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; (name/epithet: Īśāna)

• इन्द्राशनिभिः: with Indra’s thunderbolts
• इन्द्राशनिभिः: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक) + अशनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; ‘with Indra’s thunderbolts’

• वृताङ्गम्: with body covered
• वृताङ्गम्: Visheshana (to ईशानम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृत (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त from वृत्/वृ) + अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘whose body is covered/surrounded’

• ददर्श: saw
• ददर्श: Kriya
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—निषेध (negation particle)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भयविह्वलाङ्गः: with limbs trembling from fear
• भयविह्वलाङ्गः: Visheshana (to अहम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भय (प्रातिपदिक) + विह्वल (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण—‘whose body is agitated by fear’

• गङ्गाजलौघैः: by torrents of Ganges water
• गङ्गाजलौघैः: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक) + जल (प्रातिपदिक) + ओघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; ‘with torrents of Ganges-water’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—समुच्चयबोधक

• समावृताङ्गः: with body covered (engulfed)
• समावृताङ्गः: Visheshana (to अहम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-वृत् (धातु) + अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘with body enveloped’

Speaker

Śrī Markaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (as invoked in the vision) within Revākhaṇḍa narrative frame

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The narrator beholds Īśāna swelling amid gigantic clouds, his body ringed by Indra’s thunderbolts; torrents like Gaṅgā-floods cascade over him. The witness trembles in fear, yet the scene radiates divine sovereignty.

Characters & Entities

• Īśāna (Śiva)
• Indra
• Thunderbolts (āśani)
• Gaṅgā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord stands sovereign even amid cosmic terror; the devotee’s fear transforms into reverent recognition of divine protection and power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā is referenced as a sacred river, while the section overall is the Revā (Narmadā) Māhātmya within the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse is a theophany (darśana) emphasizing Śiva (Īśāna) and sacred waters.