Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

विश्वरूपमनन्तं च भूतभावन केशव । गन्धमादनमासाद्य कृतं यच्च तपस्त्वया

Transliteration

viśvarūpamanantaṃ ca bhūtabhāvana keśava | gandhamādanamāsādya kṛtaṃ yacca tapastvayā

Translation

„Zeige mir die Allgestalt und die endlose Gestalt, o Keśava, Erhalter der Wesen — jene Schau, die mit der Askese verbunden ist, die du vollbrachtest, nachdem du Gandhamādana erreicht hattest.“

Word by Word

• viśvarūpam: the universal form
• viśvarūpam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśva-rūpa (प्रातिपदिक; विश्व + रूप)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (viśvaṃ rūpaṃ yasya/tat)

• anantam: endless, infinite
• anantam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ananta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (viśvarūpam इति)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• bhūtabhāvana: O nourisher of beings
• bhūtabhāvana: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta-bhāvana (प्रातिपदिक; भूत + भावन)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (bhūtānāṃ bhāvanaḥ)

• keśava: O Keśava
• keśava: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: keśava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• gandhamādanam: Gandhamādana (mountain)
• gandhamādanam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gandha-mādana (प्रातिपदिक; गन्ध + मादन)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः (गन्धं मादयति इति/गन्धस्य मादनः) नाम-विशेषः (पर्वत-नाम)

• āsādya: having reached
• āsādya: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√sad (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्तम् (gerund/absolutive), ‘आसाद्य’ = प्राप्त्वा/उपगम्य; क्रियाविशेषणम्

• kṛtam: done, performed
• kṛtam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: कृत-प्रत्ययान्त (क्त) भूतकर्मणि कृदन्तम्; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘तपः’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• yat: which
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; यत्-शब्दः (relative pronoun)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• tapaḥ: austerity, penance
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/सर्वनाम, तृतीया-विभक्ति (करण), एकवचन

Speaker

Śrī (Lakṣmī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gandhamādana

Type: peak

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A devotee petitions Keśava for the vision of the Universal and Endless forms, recalling the Lord’s austerity at the Himalayan Gandhamādana; the mountain backdrop suggests a tapovana with sages and celestial light.

Characters & Entities

• Keśava (Viṣṇu)
• Viśvarūpa
• Ananta
• Gandhamādana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine forms—cosmic (Viśvarūpa) and infinite (Ananta)—are revealed in relation to tapas and sacred-space (sthāna) sanctity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gandhamādana is explicitly referenced as a sacred mountain associated with Viṣṇu’s austerity and extraordinary divine vision.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas is referenced as the spiritual discipline connected to the revelation; no step-by-step ritual is provided.