Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

निरीक्ष्य सुचिरं कालं कोपसंरक्तलोचनः । ध्यात्वा तं परमं मन्त्रमात्मानं च निरुध्य सः

Transliteration

nirīkṣya suciraṃ kālaṃ kopasaṃraktalocanaḥ | dhyātvā taṃ paramaṃ mantramātmānaṃ ca nirudhya saḥ

Translation

Après avoir longtemps observé, ses yeux rougirent de colère. Méditant ce mantra suprême et se maîtrisant lui-même, il se recueillit dans une concentration parfaite.

Word by Word

• nirīkṣya: having observed
• nirīkṣya: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nir-īkṣ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभावकृदन्त (gerund); ‘having looked/observed’

• suciraṃ: for a long (time)
• suciraṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su-cira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (kālaṃ)

• kālaṃ: time
• kālaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• kopa-saṃrakta-locanaḥ: whose eyes were reddened with anger
• kopa-saṃrakta-locanaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kopa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃrakta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + locana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—कोपेन संरक्ते लोचने यस्य सः

• dhyātvā: having meditated
• dhyātvā: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhyai (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभावकृदन्त (gerund)

• taṃ: that (him/it)
• taṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• paramaṃ: supreme
• paramaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (mantram)

• mantram: mantra
• mantram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• ātmānaṃ: himself, the self
• ātmānaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• nirudhya: having restrained
• nirudhya: Kriya (Gerundial action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni-rudh (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययभावकृदन्त (gerund); ‘having restrained’

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā tīrtha (general)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva’s eyes redden with kopa, yet he closes into meditation—wrath transmuted into mantra-powered concentration; the body becomes a bowstring of yoga.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• parama-mantra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even divine wrath is governed by mantra, meditation, and self-restraint—power must be guided by inner discipline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā-khaṇḍa context broadly glorifies the Revā/Narmadā sacred region; this verse emphasizes Śiva’s inner yogic focus rather than a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Meditation on a ‘supreme mantra’ is implied, but the mantra is not specified here.