Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

मार्कण्डेय उवाच । नष्टे लोके पुनश्चान्ये सलिलेन समावृते । महार्णवस्य मध्यस्थो बाहुभ्यामतरं जलम्

Transliteration

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca | naṣṭe loke punaścānye salilena samāvṛte | mahārṇavasya madhyastho bāhubhyāmataraṃ jalam

Translation

মার্কণ্ডেয় বললেন—যখন জগৎ নষ্ট হয়ে গেল এবং পুনরায় সর্বত্র জলরাশি আচ্ছন্ন করল, তখন আমি মহাসমুদ্রের মধ্যভাগে ছিলাম এবং বাহু দিয়ে জল কেটে সাঁতার কাটছিলাম।

Word by Word

• मार्कण्डेयः: Mārkaṇḍeya
• मार्कण्डेयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मार्कण्डेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम

• नष्टे: when (it was) destroyed
• नष्टे: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; ‘नष्टे (सति)’—सप्तमी-absolute

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (again)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (and)

• अन्ये: in another (state/time)
• अन्ये: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘अन्ये (सति)’—सप्तमी-absolute (in another [time/state])

• सलिलेन: by water
• सलिलेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सलिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• समावृते: when (it was) covered/filled
• समावृते: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-वृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘समावृते (सति)’—सप्तमी-absolute

• महा-अर्णवस्य: of the great ocean
• महा-अर्णवस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन; ‘महान् अर्णवः’

• मध्यस्थः: standing in the middle
• मध्यस्थः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मध्यस्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• बाहुभ्याम्: with (my) two arms
• बाहुभ्याम्: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, द्विवचन

• अतरम्: I crossed
• अतरम्: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अतृ (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम

• जलम्: water
• जलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahārṇava (cosmic ocean) as saṃsāra-metaphor

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpottama (best of kings)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya alone in the middle of the boundless cosmic ocean after the world’s destruction, swimming with his arms through endless waters under a dim, dissolution sky.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Mahārṇava (cosmic ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse sets a Purāṇic frame of pralaya (dissolution), highlighting human frailty and the need for divine refuge amid cosmic upheaval.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the scene is cosmic (the great ocean during pralaya), serving as a theological backdrop rather than a geographic praise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is narrative description preparing for a revelation.