Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

यावदूर्ध्वं चोत्क्षिपति तावद्भिन्नं सुदूरतः । पादाग्रेण तु ब्रह्माण्डं निष्क्रान्तं सलिलं ततः

Transliteration

yāvadūrdhvaṃ cotkṣipati tāvadbhinnaṃ sudūrataḥ | pādāgreṇa tu brahmāṇḍaṃ niṣkrāntaṃ salilaṃ tataḥ

Translation

As far upward as He lifted it, so far away it was cleft asunder; and by the very tip of His foot the cosmic shell was pierced, and from there water flowed out.

Word by Word

• yāvat: as much as / as far as
• yāvat: Kala/Parimana (Extent/अवधि)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण/अवधिवाचक-अव्ययम् (as far as/so long as)

• ūrdhvam: upward
• ūrdhvam: Gati (Direction/गति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ūrdhva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावेन क्रियाविशेषणप्रयोगः (adverbial accusative: upward)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम् (conjunction ‘and’)

• utkṣipati: lifts/throws up
• utkṣipati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud-√kṣip (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• tāvat: so much/that far
• tāvat: Parimana (Extent/परिमाण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: तावत्-शब्दः; परिमाण/अन्वयार्थक-अव्ययम् (so much/that far)

• bhinnam: split/broken
• bhinnam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhid (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP); नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; (brahmāṇḍam) इति पदस्य विशेषणम्

• sudūrataḥ: from very far away
• sudūrataḥ: Desha (Spatial/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: su-dūrataḥ (अव्यय; सु + दूरतः)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक-क्रियाविशेषणम् (from very far / far away)

• pādāgreṇa: with the tip of the foot
• pādāgreṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāda-agra (प्रातिपदिक; पाद + अग्र)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपातः (indeed/but)

• brahmāṇḍam: the cosmic egg (universe)
• brahmāṇḍam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahma-aṇḍa (प्रातिपदिक; ब्रह्म + अण्ड)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्

• niṣkrāntam: having come out / issued forth
• niṣkrāntam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nis-√kram (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP); नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; salilam इति पदस्य विशेषणम्

• salilam: water
• salilam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: salila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• tataḥ: thereupon
• tataḥ: Kala/Hetu (Thereupon/काल-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तर/तस्मात्-अर्थकः (thereupon/from that)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Viṣṇupadodaka-prabhava (source-motif of Gaṅgā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Trivikrama’s foot-tip pierces the luminous cosmic egg; a fissure opens; a stream of shining water pours out into the void, suggesting the birth of sacred waters.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Brahmāṇḍa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine action sanctifies the cosmos itself; sacred rivers and tīrthas are portrayed as issuing from the Lord’s transcendence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse prepares the glorification of Viṣṇupada-linked waters and tīrthas discussed immediately afterward in this chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is stated here; it explains the sacred origin of the waters that later become objects of snāna and darśana.