Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

केचिन्महापर्वतकल्परूपाः केचिन्महामीनकुलोपमाश्च । केचिद्गजेन्द्राकृतयः सुरूपाः केचिन्महाकूटनिभाः पयोदाः

Transliteration

kecinmahāparvatakalparūpāḥ kecinmahāmīnakulopamāśca | kecidgajendrākṛtayaḥ surūpāḥ kecinmahākūṭanibhāḥ payodāḥ

Translation

ചില മേഘങ്ങൾ മഹാപർവ്വതങ്ങളെപ്പോലെ വിസ്തൃതരൂപം, ചിലത് മഹാമീനകുലങ്ങളുടെ കൂട്ടംപോലെ. ചിലത് സുന്ദരമായ ഗജേന്ദ്രാകൃതികൾ, മറ്റുചിലത് ഉയർന്ന ശിഖര-കൂടങ്ങൾപോലെ തോന്നി.

Word by Word

• केचित्: some
• केचित्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• महापर्वतकल्परूपाः: having forms like great mountains
• महापर्वतकल्परूपाः: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + पर्वत (प्रातिपदिक) + कल्प (प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘having a form like a great mountain’ (upamā-artha)

• केचित्: some
• केचित्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• महामीनकुलोपमाः: like great shoals of fish
• महामीनकुलोपमाः: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + मीन (प्रातिपदिक) + कुल (प्रातिपदिक) + उपमा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘comparable to a great school of fish’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—समुच्चयबोधक

• केचित्: some
• केचित्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• गजेन्द्राकृतयः: elephant-like forms
• गजेन्द्राकृतयः: Karta (Subject/appositional)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गजेन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक) + आकृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘forms shaped like lordly elephants’

• सुरूपाः: well-formed / beautiful
• सुरूपाः: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/प्रातिपदिक) + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘beautiful in form’

• केचित्: some
• केचित्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• महाकूटनिभाः: like huge peaks
• महाकूटनिभाः: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + कूट (प्रातिपदिक) + निभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘resembling a great peak/summit’

• पयोदाः: clouds
• पयोदाः: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पयस् (प्रातिपदिक) + द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘water-givers’ = clouds

Speaker

Śrī Markaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha-region (contextual)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Cloud-masses take on colossal silhouettes: mountain-like bulks, fish-shoal patterns, elephant-headed profiles, and jagged peak-like towers—an animated sky over a sacred river corridor.

Characters & Entities

• Pralaya clouds
• Elephants (gajendra)
• Mountains (parvata)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The overwhelming scale of pralaya is meant to awaken vairāgya (detachment) and reverence for the divine order that transcends forms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None directly; it is part of the Revā Khaṇḍa’s larger narrative frame in which Narmadā’s greatness is highlighted.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.