Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

ततो महामेघविवर्धमानमीशानमिन्द्राशनिभिर्वृताङ्गम् । ददर्श नाहं भयविह्वलाङ्गो गङ्गाजलौघैश्च समावृताङ्गः

Transliteration

tato mahāmeghavivardhamānamīśānamindrāśanibhirvṛtāṅgam | dadarśa nāhaṃ bhayavihvalāṅgo gaṅgājalaughaiśca samāvṛtāṅgaḥ

Translation

അപ്പോൾ ഞാൻ ഈശാനനെ കണ്ടു—മഹാമേഘങ്ങൾക്കിടയിൽ വളർന്നു നില്ക്കുന്നവനെ, ഇന്ദ്രന്റെ വജ്രങ്ങൾ അവന്റെ ദേഹം ചുറ്റിപ്പറ്റിയിരുന്നു. ഭയത്തിൽ വിറച്ച ഞാൻ, അവനെ ഗംഗാജലത്തിന്റെ മഹാപ്രവാഹങ്ങളാലും മൂടപ്പെട്ടവനായി കണ്ടു.

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriyavisheshana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—क्रम/हेतुवाचक (adverb: ‘then/thereupon’)

• महामेघविवर्धमानम्: increasing with great clouds
• महामेघविवर्धमानम्: Visheshana (to ईशानम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + मेघ (प्रातिपदिक) + वि-वर्ध् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शानच्), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण—‘growing with great clouds / greatly increasing as clouds’

• ईशानम्: Īśāna (the Lord)
• ईशानम्: Karma (Object of ददर्श)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईशान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; (name/epithet: Īśāna)

• इन्द्राशनिभिः: with Indra’s thunderbolts
• इन्द्राशनिभिः: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक) + अशनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; ‘with Indra’s thunderbolts’

• वृताङ्गम्: with body covered
• वृताङ्गम्: Visheshana (to ईशानम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृत (प्रातिपदिक/कृदन्त from वृत्/वृ) + अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘whose body is covered/surrounded’

• ददर्श: saw
• ददर्श: Kriya
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—निषेध (negation particle)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भयविह्वलाङ्गः: with limbs trembling from fear
• भयविह्वलाङ्गः: Visheshana (to अहम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भय (प्रातिपदिक) + विह्वल (प्रातिपदिक) + अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण—‘whose body is agitated by fear’

• गङ्गाजलौघैः: by torrents of Ganges water
• गङ्गाजलौघैः: Karana (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक) + जल (प्रातिपदिक) + ओघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन; ‘with torrents of Ganges-water’

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

• समावृताङ्गः: with body covered (engulfed)
• समावृताङ्गः: Visheshana (to अहम्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-वृत् (धातु) + अङ्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘with body enveloped’

Speaker

Śrī Markaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gaṅgā (as invoked in the vision) within Revākhaṇḍa narrative frame

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The narrator beholds Īśāna swelling amid gigantic clouds, his body ringed by Indra’s thunderbolts; torrents like Gaṅgā-floods cascade over him. The witness trembles in fear, yet the scene radiates divine sovereignty.

Characters & Entities

• Īśāna (Śiva)
• Indra
• Thunderbolts (āśani)
• Gaṅgā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Lord stands sovereign even amid cosmic terror; the devotee’s fear transforms into reverent recognition of divine protection and power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Gaṅgā is referenced as a sacred river, while the section overall is the Revā (Narmadā) Māhātmya within the Skanda Purāṇa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse is a theophany (darśana) emphasizing Śiva (Īśāna) and sacred waters.