Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

एवं जगदिदं सर्वं मयूरादभवत्पुरा । समस्तं नरशार्दूल महादेवसमुद्भवम्

Transliteration

evaṃ jagadidaṃ sarvaṃ mayūrādabhavatpurā | samastaṃ naraśārdūla mahādevasamudbhavam

Translation

So entstand in früherer Zeit diese ganze Welt aus dem Pfau. Alles dies, o Tiger unter den Menschen, ging aus Mahādeva hervor.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus, in this manner
• एवम्: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of manner: 'thus')

• जगत्: the world, universe
• जगत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; सर्वनाम (demonstrative)

• सर्वम्: all, entire
• सर्वम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• मयूरात्: from the peacock
• मयूरात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मयूर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative); एकवचन

• अभवत्: became, came to be
• अभवत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past); प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person); एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• पुरा: formerly, earlier
• पुरा: Kala-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal adverb: 'formerly')

• समस्तम्: entire, whole
• समस्तम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन

• नरशार्दूल: O tiger among men
• नरशार्दूल: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर + शार्दूल (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative); एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (नराणां शार्दूलः)

• महादेवसमुद्भवम्: originating from Mahādeva
• महादेवसमुद्भवम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महादेव + समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/Nominative); एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (महादेवस्य समुद्भवम् = arising from Mahādeva)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual, addressing ‘naraśārdūla’)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) Kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: narśārdūla (addressed interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic tableau: Mahādeva as the primordial source, with the universe unfolding; a symbolic peacock (mayūra) as the immediate emanational motif, with worlds, rivers, and directions emerging.

Characters & Entities

• Mayūra (Peacock)
• Mahādeva (Śiva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Whatever symbolic forms creation takes in Purāṇic narration, the ultimate source is Mahādeva—Śiva as the ground of being.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not a specific tīrtha; it reinforces the Śaiva theological frame that undergirds the Reva/Narmadā sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.