Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

तस्याश्चरणविक्षेपैः सर्वमेकार्णवं जलम् । विक्षिप्तफेनपुञ्जौघैर्नृत्यन्तीव समं ततः

Transliteration

tasyāścaraṇavikṣepaiḥ sarvamekārṇavaṃ jalam | vikṣiptaphenapuñjaughairnṛtyantīva samaṃ tataḥ

Translation

وبحركات قوائمها السريعة صار الماء كلّه كأنه محيطٌ كونيٌّ واحد. وكانت كُتَلُ الزَّبَدِ المتدفّقة المقذوفة توحي كأن المياه نفسها ترقص في كل مكان.

Word by Word

• तस्याः: of her
• तस्याः: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Pronoun, Genitive (6th), Singular

• चरण-विक्षेपैः: by the tossing/throwing of (her) feet
• चरण-विक्षेपैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चरण (प्रातिपदिक) + विक्षेप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘चरणस्य विक्षेपः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural

• सर्वम्: all, entire
• सर्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular

• एक-अर्णवम्: like one ocean; an oceanic mass
• एक-अर्णवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘एकः अर्णवः इव’; Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular

• जलम्: water
• जलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular

• विक्षिप्त-फेन-पुञ्ज-ओघैः: with torrents of scattered heaps of foam
• विक्षिप्त-फेन-पुञ्ज-ओघैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विक्षिप्त (कृदन्त; √क्षिप्) + फेन (प्रातिपदिक) + पुञ्ज (प्रातिपदिक) + ओघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः ‘विक्षिप्ताः फेनपुञ्जाः येषां ते ओघाः’; Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural

• नृत्यन्ती: dancing
• नृत्यन्ती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नृत्यत् (कृदन्त; √नृत्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ); Feminine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• इव: as if
• इव: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्यय (particle of comparison)

• समम्: evenly, altogether
• समम्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual, within Revā Khaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied Purāṇic audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The cow’s hooves strike and scatter foam; the entire expanse becomes a single cosmic ocean; white foam arcs like garlands; the waters appear to dance in rhythmic waves.

Characters & Entities

• Revā (Narmadā)
• Ekārṇava (cosmic deluge/ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine śakti can transform fearsome chaos (the deluge) into a controlled, auspicious order—seen here as the ‘dancing’ waters under the Goddess’s power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Revā/Narmadā herself is glorified as a living tīrtha whose presence sanctifies and protects even amid cosmic dissolution imagery.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed in this verse; it is a descriptive mahātmya passage praising the river-goddess’s power.