Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 25

Devanagari script

स्वदेहादसृजद्विश्वं पञ्चभूतात्मसंज्ञितम् । क्रीडन्समसृजद्विश्वं पञ्चभूतात्मसंज्ञितम्

Transliteration

svadehādasṛjadviśvaṃ pañcabhūtātmasaṃjñitam | krīḍansamasṛjadviśvaṃ pañcabhūtātmasaṃjñitam

Translation

Aus seinem eigenen Sein offenbarte Er das Universum, genannt die Verkörperung der fünf großen Elemente. Im göttlichen Līlā-Spiel erschuf Er erneut den Kosmos, der eben mit diesen fünf Elementen identisch ist.

Word by Word

• स्वदेहात्: from (his) own body
• स्वदेहात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक) + देह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; ‘स्व-देह’ = स्वस्य देहः; ‘स्वदेहात्’ = स्वदेहात् (from his own body)

• असृजत्: created
• असृजत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √सृज् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• विश्वम्: the universe
• विश्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• पञ्चभूतात्मसंज्ञितम्: called ‘five-element-natured’
• पञ्चभूतात्मसंज्ञितम्: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + भूत (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + संज्ञित (कृदन्त; सम्+√ज्ञा)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासः—पञ्च-भूत (द्विगु/तत्पुरुष) + आत्म (तत्पुरुष) + संज्ञित (तत्पुरुष) = ‘पञ्चभूतात्मना संज्ञितम्’ (designated as having the five elements as its nature)

• क्रीडन्: sporting; while playing
• क्रीडन्: Karta (Concomitant action/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √क्रीड् (धातु) → क्रीडत् (शतृ/वर्तमान कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमान कृदन्त; क्रियाविशेषणवत् (while sporting)

• सम्: together; completely (prefix)
• सम्: Avyaya (Verb prefix/उपसर्ग)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम् (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्ग (prefix) ‘सम्’ = सम्यक्/सह (together, completely)

• असृजत्: created
• असृजत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √सृज् (धातु)
• Form: लङ्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• विश्वम्: the universe
• विश्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• पञ्चभूतात्मसंज्ञितम्: called ‘five-element-natured’
• पञ्चभूतात्मसंज्ञितम्: Karma (Qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + भूत (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + संज्ञित (कृदन्त; सम्+√ज्ञा)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; पूर्ववत् समास-विश्लेषणम्

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator (contextual; likely addressing a king such as Yudhiṣṭhira/‘Bhārata’ in the wider passage)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Lord emanates the five elements from His own form—earth, water, fire, air, space—shown as colored streams or deities emerging while He remains serene, playful.

Characters & Entities

• Five great elements (pañcabhūta)
• Cosmic Lord (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The cosmos is not separate from the Divine; it arises from the Lord’s own being and is pervaded by the five-element structure as a sacred manifestation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named; the cosmogony is situated within the Revā/Narmadā-centered section that frames the region as sacred.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the teaching supports elemental purity disciplines (śauca) and reverence for nature as divine embodiment.