Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

नमो ब्रह्मांडरूपाय तदंतर्वर्तिने नमः । अर्वाचीनपराचीनविश्वरूपाय ते नमः

Transliteration

namo brahmāṃḍarūpāya tadaṃtarvartine namaḥ | arvācīnaparācīnaviśvarūpāya te namaḥ

Translation

Verehrung Dir, der Du die Gestalt des Brahmāṇḍa selbst bist und in ihm wohnst; Verehrung Dir, dessen Allgestalt Nahes und Fernes, Diesseits und Jenseits umfasst.

Word by Word

• namo: salutation
• namo: Sambodhana/Prayojana (salutation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; नमः (salutation)

• brahmāṇḍa: cosmic egg; universe
• brahmāṇḍa: Samāsa-aṅga (compound member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman + aṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रातिपदिक-रूपम् (compound member)

• rūpāya: to the form
• rūpāya: Sampradana (recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• brahmāṇḍarūpāya: to the one whose form is the universe
• brahmāṇḍarūpāya: Sampradana (recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmāṇḍa + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; समासः: ‘ब्रह्माण्ड-रूप’ = having the form of the universe

• tad: that
• tad: Viśeṣaṇa (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; अत्र समासे पूर्वपदत्वेन ‘तद्-’ = that

• antar: within
• antar: Adhikaraṇa (locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: antar (अव्यय/उपसर्गप्राय)
• Form: अव्यय; ‘अन्तर्’ (inside/within) समासे उपपदत्वेन

• vartine: to the one abiding (dwelling)
• vartine: Sampradana (recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛt (धातु) + in (कृत्-प्रत्यय) → vartin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक (वर्तिन् = abiding); पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• tadantarvartine: to the one dwelling within that
• tadantarvartine: Sampradana (recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad + antar + vartin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; समासः: ‘तद्-अन्तर-वर्तिन्’ = dwelling within that (universe)

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambodhana/Prayojana (salutation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; नमः (salutation)

• arvācīna: near; this-side; later
• arvācīna: Viśeṣaṇa (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: arvācīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक; समासाङ्ग (compound member)

• parācīna: far; other-side; earlier
• parācīna: Viśeṣaṇa (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parācīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक; समासाङ्ग

• viśva: all; universal
• viśva: Viśeṣaṇa (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viśva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषण-प्रातिपदिक; समासाङ्ग

• rūpāya: to the form
• rūpāya: Sampradana (recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• arvācīnaparācīnaviśvarūpāya: to the one whose universal form is both near and far
• arvācīnaparācīnaviśvarūpāya: Sampradana (recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arvācīna + parācīna + viśva + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय-प्रधानः: ‘अर्वाचीन-पराचीन-विश्व-रूप’ = whose universal form is both near and far (this-side and that-side)

• te: to you
• te: Sampradana (recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; चतुर्थी (4th/Dative), एकवचन

• namaḥ: salutation
• namaḥ: Sambodhana/Prayojana (salutation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: namas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; नमः (salutation)

Speaker

Unspecified (Devotional eulogy within Dharmāraṇya narrative; likely a sage or narrator-voice)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast brahmāṇḍa like a luminous oval floats in space; within it the deity is seen as the indwelling presence, simultaneously larger than the egg and present at its heart; near and far landscapes fold into one universal form.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmāṇḍa (Cosmic Egg)
• Viśvarūpa (Universal Form)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord is both the universe’s very body and the indwelling presence; nothing—near or far—lies outside the Divine.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is not site-specific; in Dharmāraṇya it elevates the pilgrimage mood by asserting that the sacred can be encountered everywhere within the Lord’s viśvarūpa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a contemplative salutation suitable for japa or recitation during tīrtha-yātrā.