Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 23

Devanagari script

अगाधे भ्रमते सोऽपि तमोभूते महार्णवे । अविश्रमन्मुहूर्तं तु चक्रारूढ इव भ्रमन्

Transliteration

agādhe bhramate so'pi tamobhūte mahārṇave | aviśramanmuhūrtaṃ tu cakrārūḍha iva bhraman

Translation

Ia pun terombang-ambing di samudra raya yang tak terukur, dipenuhi kegelapan; tanpa beristirahat walau sekejap, berputar seakan menunggang roda.

Word by Word

• अगाधे: in the unfathomable
• अगाधे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अगाध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Locative Singular); अर्णवे इति विशेषण (in the unfathomable)

• भ्रमते: wanders, moves about
• भ्रमते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भ्रम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद (Present, 3rd sg, Ātmanepada)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine pronoun, Nominative, Singular)

• अपि: also, even
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्यय (particle: also/even)

• तमोभूते: in the darkened
• तमोभूते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तमस् + भूत (प्रातिपदिक; भूत = √भू क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Locative Singular); अर्णवे इति विशेषण (in the darkness-turned)

• महार्णवे: in the great ocean
• महार्णवे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Locative, Singular)

• अविश्रमन्: not resting, unwearied
• अविश्रमन्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अविश्रमन् (कृदन्त, √श्रम् धातु; नञ्-पूर्वक)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Present active participle, Nom. sg)

• मुहूर्तम्: for a moment
• मुहूर्तम्: Kala-adhikarana (Time extent/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुहूर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Accusative, Singular); कालाधिकरणार्थे (accusative of duration)

• तु: but, indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/अन्वय-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• चक्रारूढः: mounted on a wheel
• चक्रारूढः: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चक्र + आरूढ (प्रातिपदिक; आरूढ = √रुह् क्त, आ-उपसर्ग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Nominative, Singular)

• इव: as if, like
• इव: Sambandha (Comparison marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्यय (comparative particle)

• भ्रमन्: whirling, wandering
• भ्रमन्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भ्रमन् (कृदन्त, √भ्रम् धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Present active participle, Nom. sg)

Speaker

A narrator-sage addressing a king

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied interlocutor; immediate address ‘Bhārata’ appears in adjacent verse

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lone figure tossed in a boundless black ocean, the waters swirling like a wheel; no horizon, only darkness and rotational motion.

Characters & Entities

• Manu (implied from prior verse)
• Mahārṇava (great ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

In the absence of divine anchoring, beings are tossed helplessly by time and circumstance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None directly; it remains part of the pralaya narrative frame within Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.