Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

ग्रसित्वा शङ्करः सर्वं सदेवासुरमानवम् । प्रपश्याम्यहमीशानं सुप्तमेकार्णवे प्रभुम्

Transliteration

grasitvā śaṅkaraḥ sarvaṃ sadevāsuramānavam | prapaśyāmyahamīśānaṃ suptamekārṇave prabhum

Translation

Nachdem Śaṅkara alles verschlungen hat—Götter, Asuras und Menschen—erblicke ich den erhabenen Herrn, Īśāna, schlafend im einen kosmischen Ozean.

Word by Word

• ग्रसित्वा: having swallowed
• ग्रसित्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √ग्रस् (धातु) → ग्रसित्वा (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), ‘having swallowed’

• शङ्करः: Śaṅkara
• शङ्करः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शङ्कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• सर्वम्: everything
• सर्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Accusative singular (object ‘everything’)

• स-देव-असुर-मानवम्: together with gods, demons, and humans
• स-देव-असुर-मानवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (उपसर्ग/प्रातिपदिक ‘with’) + देव (प्रातिपदिक) + असुर (प्रातिपदिक) + मानव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (देवासुरमानवैः सह), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Accusative singular (qualifying सर्वम्)

• प्रपश्यामि: I behold/see clearly
• प्रपश्यामि: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र+√पश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; 1st person singular

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• ईशानम्: Īśāna (the Lord)
• ईशानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईशान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Accusative singular

• सुप्तम्: asleep
• सुप्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √स्वप् (धातु) → सुप्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Accusative singular (agreeing with प्रभुम्/ईशानम्)

• एक-अर्णवे: in the single ocean
• एक-अर्णवे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Locative singular

• प्रभुम्: the Lord/master
• प्रभुम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Accusative singular

Speaker

Unspecified narrator (within Revā Khaṇḍa context; likely a ṛṣi/narrator describing a vision)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dramatic pralaya vision: Śaṅkara has absorbed the worlds; only the sovereign Īśāna remains, asleep upon the single ocean—silence after cosmic consumption.

Characters & Entities

• Śaṅkara
• Īśāna
• Devas
• Asuras
• Mānava (humans)
• Ekārṇava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

All beings are transient within time, while the Lord remains the ultimate sovereign of creation and dissolution.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is cosmological; the tirtha focus is indirect, serving the Revā Khaṇḍa’s devotional framing of the Narmadā region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse.