Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

निरीक्ष्य सुचिरं कालं कोपसंरक्तलोचनः । ध्यात्वा तं परमं मन्त्रमात्मानं च निरुध्य सः

Transliteration

nirīkṣya suciraṃ kālaṃ kopasaṃraktalocanaḥ | dhyātvā taṃ paramaṃ mantramātmānaṃ ca nirudhya saḥ

Translation

Nachdem er lange geschaut hatte, röteten sich seine Augen vor Zorn. Indem er jenes höchste Mantra meditierte und sich selbst zügelte, sammelte er sich in konzentrierter Beherrschung.

Word by Word

• nirīkṣya: having observed
• nirīkṣya: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nir-īkṣ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभावकृदन्त (gerund); ‘having looked/observed’

• suciraṃ: for a long (time)
• suciraṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su-cira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (kālaṃ)

• kālaṃ: time
• kālaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• kopa-saṃrakta-locanaḥ: whose eyes were reddened with anger
• kopa-saṃrakta-locanaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kopa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃrakta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + locana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—कोपेन संरक्ते लोचने यस्य सः

• dhyātvā: having meditated
• dhyātvā: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhyai (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभावकृदन्त (gerund)

• taṃ: that (him/it)
• taṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• paramaṃ: supreme
• paramaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (mantram)

• mantram: mantra
• mantram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• ātmānaṃ: himself, the self
• ātmānaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• nirudhya: having restrained
• nirudhya: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-rudh (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभावकृदन्त (gerund); ‘having restrained’

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā tīrtha (general)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva’s eyes redden with kopa, yet he closes into meditation—wrath transmuted into mantra-powered concentration; the body becomes a bowstring of yoga.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• parama-mantra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even divine wrath is governed by mantra, meditation, and self-restraint—power must be guided by inner discipline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā-khaṇḍa context broadly glorifies the Revā/Narmadā sacred region; this verse emphasizes Śiva’s inner yogic focus rather than a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Meditation on a ‘supreme mantra’ is implied, but the mantra is not specified here.