Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 2
Devanagari script
ब्रह्मैको विचरंस्तत्र तमीभूते महार्णवे । दिव्यवर्षसहस्रं तु खद्योत इव रूपवान्
Transliteration
brahmaiko vicaraṃstatra tamībhūte mahārṇave | divyavarṣasahasraṃ tu khadyota iva rūpavān
Translation
Là, dans ce grand océan devenu ténèbres, Brahmā errait seul—durant mille années divines—brillant tel un ver luisant.
Word by Word
ब्रह्मBrahmā / the Creator (here as a being)
ब्रह्म:
Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन
एकःalone, single
एकः:
Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootएक (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘ब्रह्म’)
विचरन्wandering
विचरन्:
Karta (Participial predicate/कर्तृसम्बन्ध)
TypeVerb
Rootवि + चर् (धातु)
Formवर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ/Present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘wandering/moving about’
तत्रthere
तत्र:
Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरणार्थ)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतत्र (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; देशवाचक-क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of place: “there”)
तमीभूतेhaving become dark
तमीभूते:
Adhikarana (Qualifier/अधिकरणविशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootतमस् (प्रातिपदिक) + ईभूत (कृदन्त; √भू)
Formसप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त/भावे-प्रयोग (‘having become darkness’); विशेषण (qualifying ‘महार्णवे’)
महार्णवेin the great ocean
महार्णवे:
Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootमहा (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
Formकर्मधारय-समास (महान् अर्णवः); पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन
दिव्यवर्षसहस्रम्for a thousand divine years
दिव्यवर्षसहस्रम्:
Kala-adhikarana (Time extent/कालाधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootदिव्य (प्रातिपदिक) + वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
Formतत्पुरुष-समास (दिव्यानां वर्षाणां सहस्रम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; कालपरिमाण (duration)
तुindeed, and
तु:
Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतु (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; अवधान/विरोध/अन्वयार्थक-निपात (particle: “indeed/but”)
खद्योतःa firefly
खद्योतः:
Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
TypeNoun
Rootखद्योत (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; उपमान (standard of comparison)
इवlike
इव:
Upama-suchaka (Comparator/उपमासूचक)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootइव (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; उपमावाचक-निपात (comparative particle)
रूपवान्radiant, possessing form/beauty
रूपवान्:
Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootरूपवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; गुणवाचक-विशेषण
Speaker
Mārkaṇḍeya
Tirtha Mahatmya
Type: kshetra
Skanda Dialogue
Listener: Unspecified (frame audience)
Visual Art Cues
Scene: A lone four-faced Brahmā drifts over a black ocean for ages; his small aura glows like a firefly against vast darkness.
Characters & Entities
B
BrahmāFAQs
Even the cosmic creator faces solitude and uncertainty in dissolution, underscoring the supremacy of the transcendent Lord beyond created order.
None; the verse is cosmological rather than tīrtha-specific.
None.