Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

क्षीराब्धिजलकल्लोलमदबिन्द्वंकिताम्बरम् । तारकोत्करविस्फारतारहारविराजितम्

Transliteration

kṣīrābdhijalakallolamadabindvaṃkitāmbaram | tārakotkaravisphāratārahāravirājitam

Translation

They beheld Him whose garment was speckled as though with the playful spray of the Milk-Ocean’s rolling waves, and who shone resplendent with a starry necklace, spread wide like a cluster of constellations.

Word by Word

• kṣīra: milk
• kṣīra: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣīra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक (stem) — समासपूर्वपद (compound member)

• abdhi: ocean
• abdhi: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abdhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक — समासमध्यपद

• jala: water
• jala: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक — समासमध्यपद

• kallola: wave
• kallola: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kallola (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक — समासमध्यपद

• mada: intoxication; exuberance
• mada: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक — समासमध्यपद

• bindu: drop
• bindu: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bindu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक — समासमध्यपद

• aṅkita: marked; stamped
• aṅkita: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṅkita (कृदन्त; √aṅk/अङ्क्)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; समासपूर्वपद

• ambara: garment; cloth
• ambara: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ambara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; समस्तपद (compound whole)

• tāraka: star
• tāraka: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tāraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक — समासपूर्वपद

• utkara: heap; multitude
• utkara: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: utkara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक — समासमध्यपद

• visphāra: spreading; expansion
• visphāra: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: visphāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक — समासमध्यपद

• tārā: star
• tārā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tārā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक — समासमध्यपद

• hāra: necklace
• hāra: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: hāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रातिपदिक — समासमध्यपद

• virājita: adorned; shining with
• virājita: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: virājita (कृदन्त; √rāj/राज् with vi-)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; समस्तपद (tārakotkaravisphāratārahāra-virājita)

Speaker

Narrator (context: Ayodhyāmāhātmya; praise/vision sequence leading to Śiva’s stuti)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kṣīrābdhi (symbolic tīrtha)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Close, poetic iconography: Viṣṇu’s garment appears dotted like milk-ocean spray; a wide, star-cluster necklace gleams across his chest like constellations.

Characters & Entities

• Kṣīrābdhi (Milk Ocean)
• Viṣṇu (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine vision (darśana) is portrayed as beauty that elevates the mind toward reverence and surrender.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Ayodhyā is the praised sacred setting (Ayodhyāmāhātmya), framing the vision of the Lord.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse focuses on contemplative visualization as a mode of devotion.