Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 71

Devanagari script

भवजलधिगतानां द्वन्द्ववाताहतानां सुतदुहितृकलत्रत्राणभारार्दितानाम् । विषमविषयतोये मज्जतामप्लवानां भवति शरणमेको विष्णुपोतो नराणाम्

Transliteration

bhavajaladhigatānāṃ dvandvavātāhatānāṃ sutaduhitṛkalatratrāṇabhārārditānām | viṣamaviṣayatoye majjatāmaplavānāṃ bhavati śaraṇameko viṣṇupoto narāṇām

Translation

Pour ceux qui sont tombés dans l’océan du devenir mondain, battus par les vents des contraires et accablés du fardeau de protéger fils, fille et épouse—qui se noient dans les eaux perfides des objets des sens sans embarcation—il n’est qu’un refuge : la « barque » de Viṣṇu.

Word by Word

• bhava-jaladhi-gatānām: of those who have entered the ocean of worldly existence
• bhava-jaladhi-gatānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhava (प्रातिपदिक) + jaladhi (प्रातिपदिक) + gata (कृदन्त; √gam)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन; बहुव्रीह्यर्थे विशेषण: ‘(those) gone into the ocean of saṃsāra’

• dvandva-vāta-āhatānām: of those battered by the wind of opposites
• dvandva-vāta-āhatānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvandva (प्रातिपदिक) + vāta (प्रातिपदिक) + āhata (कृदन्त; √han)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; विशेषण: ‘struck by the wind of dualities’

• suta-duhitṛ-kalatra-trāṇa-bhāra-arditānām: of those distressed by the burden of protecting family
• suta-duhitṛ-kalatra-trāṇa-bhāra-arditānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: suta (प्रातिपदिक) + duhitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + kalatra (प्रातिपदिक) + trāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāra (प्रातिपदिक) + ardita (कृदन्त; √ard ‘to afflict’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; विशेषण: ‘afflicted by the burden of protecting son, daughter, and wife’

• viṣama-viṣaya-toye: in the dangerous water of sense-objects
• viṣama-viṣaya-toye: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣama (प्रातिपदिक) + viṣaya (प्रातिपदिक) + toya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; ‘in the perilous water of sense-objects’

• majjatām: of those who are sinking
• majjatām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Verb
• Root: majj (मज्ज् धातु ‘to sink’)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (Present participle) ‘majjat’ + षष्ठी-बहुवचन (Genitive plural)

• aplavānām: of those without a raft
• aplavānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- (नञ्) + plava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; नञ्-समास/नकारार्थ: ‘without a raft/boat’

• bhavati: becomes, is
• bhavati: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (भू धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• śaraṇam: refuge
• śaraṇam: Samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate noun/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विधेय (predicate)

• ekaḥ: one, sole
• ekaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण

• viṣṇu-potaḥ: the boat of Viṣṇu
• viṣṇu-potaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक) + pota (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (viṣṇoḥ potaḥ)

• narāṇām: of men, of people
• narāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (deduced from immediate narrative context in this Revā Khaṇḍa passage)

Tirtha Mahatmya

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

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhūpāla (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dramatic allegory: humans struggling in a stormy ocean of becoming, lashed by winds of opposites, clutching family burdens; a radiant boat marked with Viṣṇu’s symbols arrives as refuge.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly duties and dualities can overwhelm; devotion and surrender to Viṣṇu is presented as the sure means of crossing saṃsāra.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is framed within the Revā Khaṇḍa (Narmadā/Revā sacred geography), though this specific line emphasizes universal refuge in Viṣṇu rather than naming a single tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual (snāna/dāna/japa) is stated here; it teaches śaraṇāgati (taking refuge) through Viṣṇu-bhakti.