Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

नीलोत्पलाभाः क्वचिदंजनाभा गोक्षीरकुन्देन्दुनिभाश्च केचित् । मयूरचन्द्राकृतयस्तथाऽन्ये केचिद्विधूमानलसप्रभाश्च

Transliteration

nīlotpalābhāḥ kvacidaṃjanābhā gokṣīrakundendunibhāśca kecit | mayūracandrākṛtayastathā'nye kecidvidhūmānalasaprabhāśca

Translation

Some were like blue lotuses; some were dark like anjana collyrium. Some shone like cow’s milk, jasmine, or the moon. Others took forms like peacocks and crescents, and some blazed with the radiance of smokeless fire.

Word by Word

• नीलोत्पलाभाः: having the appearance of blue lotuses
• नीलोत्पलाभाः: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नील (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्पल (प्रातिपदिक) + आभा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘आभा’ (splendour/appearance) with उपमान-निर्देश (simile-base)

• क्वचित्: in some places / sometimes
• क्वचित्: Kriyavisheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—काल/देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: ‘somewhere/sometimes’)

• अंजनाभाः: having the look of collyrium (dark/black)
• अंजनाभाः: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अंजन (प्रातिपदिक) + आभा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• गोक्षीर: cow’s milk
• गोक्षीर: Upamana (Simile member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासपद (cow’s milk) used as compound-member

• कुन्द: jasmine (kunda flower)
• कुन्द: Upamana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुन्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (jasmine)

• इन्दु: moon
• इन्दु: Upamana
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्दु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (moon)

• निभाः: resembling
• निभाः: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘like/resembling’ (upamā-vācaka)

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

• केचित्: some
• केचित्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम—‘some (persons/things)’

• मयूरचन्द्राकृतयः: forms shaped like peacock-moons (crescent-like)
• मयूरचन्द्राकृतयः: Karta (Subject/appositional)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मयूर (प्रातिपदिक) + चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक) + आकृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘आकृति’—रूपवाचक; समासः उपमान-निर्देशः

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Kriyavisheshana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—रीतिवाचक/समुच्चयार्थ (adverb: ‘thus/likewise’)

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘others’

• केचित्: some
• केचित्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• विधूम: smokeless
• विधूम: Visheshana (compound member)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-धूम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (समासाङ्ग), ‘smokeless’; समासपूर्वपद

• अनल: fire
• अनल: Upamana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘fire’; समासाङ्ग

• सप्रभाः: having the radiance (of smokeless fire)
• सप्रभाः: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (उपसर्ग/सह-प्रातिपदिक) + प्रभा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; बहिर्वृत्तिः ‘with splendour’; here as ‘having the lustre (of …)’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—समुच्चयबोधक

Speaker

Śrī Markaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha-region (contextual)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sky filled with many kinds of clouds: some blue like nīlotpala, some black like añjana, some white like milk/jasmine/moon; others shaped like peacocks and crescents; some glowing like smokeless fire—an ominous, beautiful prelude to cosmic rain.

Characters & Entities

• Pralaya clouds
• Moon (indu/candra)
• Peacock (mayūra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇas use vivid forms to teach awe and detachment: the universe’s beauty and terror alike are transient displays within time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not a specific site in this verse; it supports the Revā Khaṇḍa’s larger praise of Narmadā by portraying the scale of pralaya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is descriptive (rūpa-varṇana) of the pralaya clouds.