Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

सनाभिकमले विष्णो र्जातो ब्रह्मा हि लोककृत् । सर्वं जलमयं पश्यन्नानाकारमरूपकम्

Transliteration

sanābhikamale viṣṇo rjāto brahmā hi lokakṛt | sarvaṃ jalamayaṃ paśyannānākāramarūpakam

Translation

Du lotus issu du nombril de Viṣṇu naquit Brahmā, le façonnier des mondes. Regardant autour de lui, il vit que tout était fait d’eau, sans forme distincte, bien que susceptible d’innombrables apparences.

Word by Word

• sanābhikamale: in the lotus with a navel (navel-lotus)
• sanābhikamale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sa-nābhi-kamala (प्रातिपदिक; समास: sa + nābhi + kamala)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण (locative of place)

• viṣṇoḥ: of Viṣṇu
• viṣṇoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• jātaḥ: born
• jātaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु) → jāta (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; भावे/कर्मणि प्रयोगः—‘born/produced’

• brahmā: Brahmā
• brahmā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्ता

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle/emphasis)

• lokakṛt: creator of the worlds
• lokakṛt: Karta (Apposition to subject/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka + kṛt (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक ‘kṛt’ from √kṛ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेष्य-विशेषणभावे—ब्रह्मणः उपाधिः

• sarvam: everything
• sarvam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म (object)

• jalamayam: made of water
• jalamayam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jala-maya (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; ‘sarvam’ इति विशेषणम्

• paśyan: seeing
• paśyan: Karta (Agent participle/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु) → paśyat (कृदन्त, शतृ)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (present active participle/शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि—‘seeing’

• nānākāram: of many forms
• nānākāram: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nānā + ākāra (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘sarvam’ इति विशेषणम्

• arūpakam: formless
• arūpakam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-rūpaka (प्रातिपदिक; नञ्-समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘sarvam’ इति विशेषणम्

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice; context indicates a descriptive narration within Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast, dark-blue expanse of primordial waters; Viṣṇu reclining (yoga-nidrā) with a radiant lotus rising from his navel; Brahmā seated upon the lotus, gazing outward at a formless, watery universe shimmering with potential forms.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Brahmā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

All manifested forms arise from the Divine source; creation begins from the formless and is ordered by dharma-guided intelligence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it frames a cosmogonic prelude within the Dharmāraṇya section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse is descriptive, establishing the creation setting.