Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

त्वया ह्येकार्णवे सुप्तः पद्मनाभः सुरारिहा । दृष्टः सहस्रचरणः सहस्रनयनोदरः

Transliteration

tvayā hyekārṇave suptaḥ padmanābhaḥ surārihā | dṛṣṭaḥ sahasracaraṇaḥ sahasranayanodaraḥ

Translation

Denn wahrlich sahst du Padmanābha, den Vernichter der Feinde der Götter, schlafend auf dem einen kosmischen Ozean—mit tausend Füßen und einem Leib, der mit tausend Augen begabt ist.

Word by Word

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग-प्रयोगः; तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन (Singular)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• ekārṇave: in the single ocean (cosmic flood)
• ekārṇave: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + arṇava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (एकः अर्णवः)

• suptaḥ: asleep
• suptaḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svap (धातु) → supta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP); पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• padmanābhaḥ: Padmanābha (Viṣṇu)
• padmanābhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padma (प्रातिपदिक) + nābha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पद्मस्य नाभः यस्य)

• surārihā: slayer of the enemies of the gods
• surārihā: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक) + ari (प्रातिपदिक) + han (धातु) → hā (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; कृदन्तः—हनॢङ् (हन्) धातोः ‘ह’ (घञ्/क्विप्-प्रत्ययान्त) अर्थे ‘हन्ता’

• dṛṣṭaḥ: was seen
• dṛṣṭaḥ: Karma (Object in passive/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु) → dṛṣṭa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP); पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे ‘seen’ (finite sense)

• sahasracaraṇaḥ: having a thousand feet
• sahasracaraṇaḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक) + caraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—बहुव्रीहिः (सहस्रं चरणानि यस्य)

• sahasranayanodaraḥ: having a thousand eyes (in his body)
• sahasranayanodaraḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक) + nayana (प्रातिपदिक) + udara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—बहुव्रीहिः (सहस्रं नयनानि उदरे/मध्ये यस्य)

Speaker

Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A boundless single ocean of dissolution; Padmanābha (Viṣṇu) asleep in yoganidrā, immense cosmic body with innumerable feet and eyes, radiating calm; the sense of time suspended before creation.

Characters & Entities

• Padmanābha (Viṣṇu)
• Ekārṇava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Amid dissolution, the Divine sustains and transcends time; contemplation of the cosmic Lord anchors faith beyond impermanence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single earthly tīrtha is named; this is a cosmological vision embedded within Revā Khaṇḍa’s tīrtha-centered narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse describes a theological-cosmological vision.