Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

त्वमपः प्रथमं सृष्ट्वा तासु वीर्यमवासृजः । तदण्डमभवद्धैमं यस्मिल्लोकाश्चराचराः

Transliteration

tvamapaḥ prathamaṃ sṛṣṭvā tāsu vīryamavāsṛjaḥ | tadaṇḍamabhavaddhaimaṃ yasmillokāścarācarāḥ

Translation

You first created the waters and then released your potency into them. From that arose the golden cosmic egg, within which exist the worlds of moving and unmoving beings.

Word by Word

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सर्वनाम — 'you'

• अपः: the waters
• अपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ap (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (बहुवचन-प्रयोग), द्वितीया (2nd), बहुवचन — 'waters'

• प्रथमम्: first
• प्रथमम्: Sambandha (Sequence/क्रम)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prathama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रमवाचक क्रियाविशेषण) — 'first(ly)'

• सृष्ट्वा: having created
• सृष्ट्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √sṛj (सृज्)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund) — 'having created'

• तासु: in them
• तासु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), बहुवचन — 'in them' (in those waters)

• वीर्यम्: seed/potency
• वीर्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vīrya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन — 'seed/potency'

• अवासृजः: you released
• अवासृजः: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava-√sṛj (सृज्)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/Imperfect), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद — 'you released/let fall'

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — 'that'

• अण्डम्: egg
• अण्डम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — 'egg (cosmic egg)'

• अभवत्: became
• अभवत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत/Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद — 'became'

• धैमम्: golden
• धैमम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhaima (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — 'golden'

• यस्मिन्: in which
• यस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — 'in which'

• लोकाः: worlds
• लोकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन — 'worlds'

• चराचराः: moving and unmoving
• चराचराः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: cara (प्रातिपदिक) + acara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व (चराः च अचराः च) — 'moving and unmoving'

Speaker

Devas (collective stuti)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Āpaḥ (primordial waters) as archetypal tīrtha

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic vision: dark-blue primordial waters, a radiant golden egg emerging as divine potency enters the waters; within the egg, faint silhouettes of worlds and beings moving and unmoving.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Āpaḥ (primeval waters)
• Hiraṇyāṇḍa (golden cosmic egg) (concept)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Creation is portrayed as sacred emergence from divine potency; the cosmos is held within an ordered, purposeful origin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; the verse is cosmological rather than geographical.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a doctrinal description used within a hymn of praise.