Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

द्वीपान्यशेषाणि तथा तथा सर्वसरांसि च । नगरग्रामपूर्णा च मेदिनी मेदिनीपते । देवाङ्गनाभिर्देवस्य देहे दृष्टं महात्मनः

Transliteration

dvīpānyaśeṣāṇi tathā tathā sarvasarāṃsi ca | nagaragrāmapūrṇā ca medinī medinīpate | devāṅganābhirdevasya dehe dṛṣṭaṃ mahātmanaḥ

Translation

Im Leibe des großen Herrn sahen sie alle Kontinente und Inseln und auch alle Seen; und die Erde, erfüllt von Städten und Dörfern, o Herr der Erde, wurde von den göttlichen Jungfrauen im Körper des Gottes, des Großgesinnten, geschaut.

Word by Word

• द्वीपानि: islands; continents
• द्वीपानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• अशेषाणि: without remainder; all
• अशेषाणि: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषणम्

• तथा: likewise; also
• तथा: Avyaya (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/तुल्यताबोधक (adverb)

• तथा: and likewise
• तथा: Avyaya (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरुक्त-समुच्चय (reiterative adverb)

• सर्वसरांसि: all lakes/ponds
• सर्वसरांसि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + सरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयसमासः (सर्वाणि सरांसि)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• नगरग्रामपूर्णा: filled with cities and villages
• नगरग्रामपूर्णा: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नगर (प्रातिपदिक) + ग्राम (प्रातिपदिक) + पूर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (नगरैः ग्रामैः च पूर्णा = filled with cities and villages); विशेषणम् (मेदिनी)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• मेदिनी: the earth
• मेदिनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेदिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• मेदिनीपते: O lord of the earth
• मेदिनीपते: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेदिनी (प्रातिपदिक) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (मेदिन्याः पतिः)

• देवाङ्गनाभिः: by the divine maidens
• देवाङ्गनाभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्गना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (देवानाम् अङ्गनाः)

• देवस्य: of the god
• देवस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• देहे: in the body
• देहे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• दृष्टम्: seen
• दृष्टम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दृश् (धातु) + क्त (प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे ‘seen’

• महात्मनः: of the great-souled one
• महात्मनः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrative voice describing what the Apsarases saw (Apsarases are explicit here: devāṅganābhiḥ)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Apsarases gaze into the Lord’s body and see all dvīpas and islands, countless lakes, and the earth crowded with cities and villages—like a complete inhabited map glowing inside a divine torso.

Characters & Entities

• dvīpas
• lakes (saras)
• earth (medinī)
• cities
• villages
• devāṅganās (apsarases)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The world’s geography and settlements are not separate from the Divine; the cosmos is embraced within the Lord.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Implicitly the Revā (Narmadā) milieu frames the chapter, but this verse praises the all-containing Lord rather than naming a single tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is an awe-filled cosmological description.