Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

स्वदेहादसृजद्विश्वं पञ्चभूतात्मसंज्ञितम् । क्रीडन्समसृजद्विश्वं पञ्चभूतात्मसंज्ञितम्

Transliteration

svadehādasṛjadviśvaṃ pañcabhūtātmasaṃjñitam | krīḍansamasṛjadviśvaṃ pañcabhūtātmasaṃjñitam

Translation

من كيانه نفسه أظهر الكون، المسمّى تجسّد العناصر الخمسة العظمى. وفي ليلَا اللعب الإلهي أعاد إظهار العالم، المعروف بأنه قائم على تلك العناصر الخمسة عينها.

Word by Word

• स्वदेहात्: from (his) own body
• स्वदेहात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक) + देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; ‘स्व-देह’ = स्वस्य देहः; ‘स्वदेहात्’ = स्वदेहात् (from his own body)

• असृजत्: created
• असृजत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √सृज् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• विश्वम्: the universe
• विश्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• पञ्चभूतात्मसंज्ञितम्: called ‘five-element-natured’
• पञ्चभूतात्मसंज्ञितम्: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + भूत (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + संज्ञित (कृदन्त; सम्+√ज्ञा)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—पञ्च-भूत (द्विगु/तत्पुरुष) + आत्म (तत्पुरुष) + संज्ञित (तत्पुरुष) = ‘पञ्चभूतात्मना संज्ञितम्’ (designated as having the five elements as its nature)

• क्रीडन्: sporting; while playing
• क्रीडन्: Karta (Concomitant action/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √क्रीड् (धातु) → क्रीडत् (शतृ/वर्तमान कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमान कृदन्त; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (while sporting)

• सम्: together; completely (prefix)
• सम्: Avyaya (Verb prefix/उपसर्ग)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम् (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्ग (prefix) ‘सम्’ = सम्यक्/सह (together, completely)

• असृजत्: created
• असृजत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √सृज् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• विश्वम्: the universe
• विश्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• पञ्चभूतात्मसंज्ञितम्: called ‘five-element-natured’
• पञ्चभूतात्मसंज्ञितम्: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + भूत (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + संज्ञित (कृदन्त; सम्+√ज्ञा)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; पूर्ववत् समास-विश्लेषणम्

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator (contextual; likely addressing a king such as Yudhiṣṭhira/‘Bhārata’ in the wider passage)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Lord emanates the five elements from His own form—earth, water, fire, air, space—shown as colored streams or deities emerging while He remains serene, playful.

Characters & Entities

• Five great elements (pañcabhūta)
• Cosmic Lord (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The cosmos is not separate from the Divine; it arises from the Lord’s own being and is pervaded by the five-element structure as a sacred manifestation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named; the cosmogony is situated within the Revā/Narmadā-centered section that frames the region as sacred.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the teaching supports elemental purity disciplines (śauca) and reverence for nature as divine embodiment.