Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

अमृतोत्पादने राजन्कूर्मो भूत्वा जगद्गुरुः । मन्दरं धारयामास तथा देवीं वसुंधराम्

Transliteration

amṛtotpādane rājankūrmo bhūtvā jagadguruḥ | mandaraṃ dhārayāmāsa tathā devīṃ vasuṃdharām

Translation

王よ、不死の甘露が生み出された時、世界の師は亀となられた。主はマンダラ山を背負い、同様に大地の女神を支えられたのである。

Word by Word

• अमृतोत्पादने: in the production of nectar
• अमृतोत्पादने: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अमृत + उत्पादन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative), एकवचन; समासः—अमृतस्य उत्पादनम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन

• कूर्मः: a tortoise
• कूर्मः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Purvakala-kriya (पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (Gerund), ‘having become’

• जगद्गुरुः: the teacher of the world
• जगद्गुरुः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् + गुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—जगतः गुरु: (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः)

• मन्दरम्: Mount Mandara
• मन्दरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्दर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• धारयामास: held / supported
• धारयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: धृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Periphrastic Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb), ‘thus/likewise’

• देवीम्: the goddess
• देवीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• वसुंधराम्: Vasundharā (Earth)
• वसुंधराम्: Karma (Apposition to devīm/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसुंधरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A King (rājan)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Ocean of Milk churned with Mandara as the churning rod; the Lord as a colossal Tortoise beneath, bearing the mountain; devas and asuras pull Vāsuki as rope; foam, jewels, and nectar emerging.

Characters & Entities

• Kūrma
• Amṛta
• Mandara (mountain)
• Earth (Vasundharā)
• Yudhiṣṭhira (as rājān, addressee)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine support underlies cosmic cooperation; even the churning for immortality succeeds only through the Lord’s sustaining power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it remains part of the Jayavārāha/Narmadā-centered māhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it recounts the Kūrma avatāra’s role in the amṛta episode.