Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

उपसंहर विश्वात्मन्रूपमेतत्सनातनम् । वर्धमानं न नो द्रष्टुं समर्थं चक्षुरीश्वर

Transliteration

upasaṃhara viśvātmanrūpametatsanātanam | vardhamānaṃ na no draṣṭuṃ samarthaṃ cakṣurīśvara

Translation

Retire, ô Âme de l’univers, cette forme éternelle. À mesure qu’elle grandit, nos yeux ne peuvent plus la contempler, ô Seigneur.

Word by Word

• upasaṃhara: withdraw, contract
• upasaṃhara: Kriya (Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: upa+saṃ+hṛ (हृ धातु)
• Form: लोट्, मध्यमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; imperative: “withdraw/contract”

• viśvātman: O universal Self
• viśvātman: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viśva+ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनम्; vocative singular; “O Soul of the universe”

• rūpam: form
• rūpam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; accusative singular

• etat: this
• etat: Visheshana (Qualifier of object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: etad (एतद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; accusative singular; demonstrative adjective to “rūpam”

• sanātanam: eternal, ancient
• sanātanam: Visheshana (Qualifier of object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sanātana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; adjective to “rūpam”

• vardhamānam: growing, increasing
• vardhamānam: Visheshana (Qualifier of object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vardhamāna (कृदन्त; शतृ-प्रत्यय from √vṛdh)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; present participle used adjectivally; qualifying “rūpam”

• na: not
• na: Nishedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपातः; negation particle

• naḥ: of us / our
• naḥ: Sambandha (Possessor/Relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी बहुवचनम्; genitive plural “of us/our”

• draṣṭum: to see
• draṣṭum: Prayojana (Purpose)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (दृश् धातु)
• Form: तुमुन्-प्रत्ययान्त (infinitive), “to see”

• samartham: capable
• samartham: Kartṛ-dharma (Predicate of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samartha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; here predicate adjective with implied “cakṣuḥ” (our eye is not capable)

• cakṣuḥ: eye
• cakṣuḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cakṣus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; nominative singular; subject of implied “asti”

• īśvara: O Lord
• īśvara: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचनम्; vocative singular

Speaker

Apsarās, collectively, addressing Janārdana

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā tīrtha (general)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Lord’s form expands into a viśvarūpa-like radiance; devotees shield their eyes, pleading for the form to withdraw to a worshipful, approachable manifestation.

Characters & Entities

• Viśvātman (the universal Self)
• Īśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine reality can exceed sensory capacity; humility and prayer guide the devotee when overwhelmed by the Lord’s manifestation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader setting is the Revā (Narmadā) sacred landscape, but this verse itself is about the theophany, not a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is a supplication within a hymn.