Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

महार्णवे ततस्तस्मिन् भ्रमन्गोः पुच्छमाश्रितः । निर्वाते चान्धकारे च निरालोके निरामये

Transliteration

mahārṇave tatastasmin bhramangoḥ pucchamāśritaḥ | nirvāte cāndhakāre ca nirāloke nirāmaye

Translation

Dann, in jenem großen Ozean, umhertreibend und am Schwanz der Kuh festhaltend, verweilte ich in windloser Dunkelheit — lichtlos und frei von Leid.

Word by Word

• महार्णवे: in the great ocean
• महार्णवे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular); समासः: कर्मधारय (महान् अर्णवः)

• ततः: then
• ततः: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• तस्मिन्: in that (place/state)
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• भ्रमन्: wandering
• भ्रमन्: Karta (Agent as participle/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भ्रम् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ/Present active participle), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग; √भ्रम् (to wander/roam)

• गोः: of a cow
• गोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• पुच्छम्: tail
• पुच्छम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुच्छ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• आश्रितः: having taken refuge in / clinging to
• आश्रितः: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ + श्रि (धातु); आश्रित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/Past passive participle), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग; √श्रि (to resort/lean on) with आ-

• निर्वाते: in a windless (state/place)
• निर्वाते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर् + वात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular); उपसर्ग-पूर्वक विशेषण (nirvāta = windless)

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

• अन्धकारे: in darkness
• अन्धकारे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्धकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

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

• निरालोके: in (a place) without light
• निरालोके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर् + आलोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (nirāloka = without light)

• निरामये: in (a state) free from affliction
• निरामये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर् + आमय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (nirāmaya = free from disease/affliction)

Speaker

Unspecified (deduced: narrator describing survival by refuge)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) — contextual frame; mahārṇava is mythic setting

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A figure adrift in a vast dark ocean, holding the tail of a cow that floats serenely; the air is still, the scene paradoxically calm and ‘unafflicted’.

Characters & Entities

• Gauḥ (cow, implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Taking refuge in a divinely given support grants steadiness even amid ‘oceanic’ uncertainty; grace preserves one from affliction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā-khaṇḍa setting is primary; the verse itself emphasizes symbolic waters rather than a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the narrative models śaraṇāgati (seeking refuge).