Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

त्वया ह्येकार्णवे सुप्तः पद्मनाभः सुरारिहा । दृष्टः सहस्रचरणः सहस्रनयनोदरः

Transliteration

tvayā hyekārṇave suptaḥ padmanābhaḥ surārihā | dṛṣṭaḥ sahasracaraṇaḥ sahasranayanodaraḥ

Translation

നീ ഏകാർണവമായ മഹാസമുദ്രത്തിൽ ശയനിച്ചിരുന്ന പദ്മനാഭനെ—ദേവശത്രുസംഹാരകനെ—ദർശിച്ചു; അവൻ സഹസ്രചരണനും സഹസ്രനയനസമ്പന്ന ദേഹധാരിയും ആകുന്നു.

Word by Word

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग-प्रयोगः; तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन (Singular)

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

• ekārṇave: in the single ocean (cosmic flood)
• ekārṇave: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + arṇava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (एकः अर्णवः)

• suptaḥ: asleep
• suptaḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: svap (धातु) → supta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP); पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• padmanābhaḥ: Padmanābha (Viṣṇu)
• padmanābhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: padma (प्रातिपदिक) + nābha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (पद्मस्य नाभः यस्य)

• surārihā: slayer of the enemies of the gods
• surārihā: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक) + ari (प्रातिपदिक) + han (धातु) → hā (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः; कृदन्तः—हनॢङ् (हन्) धातोः ‘ह’ (घञ्/क्विप्-प्रत्ययान्त) अर्थे ‘हन्ता’

• dṛṣṭaḥ: was seen
• dṛṣṭaḥ: Karma (Object in passive/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु) → dṛṣṭa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP); पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे ‘seen’ (finite sense)

• sahasracaraṇaḥ: having a thousand feet
• sahasracaraṇaḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक) + caraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—बहुव्रीहिः (सहस्रं चरणानि यस्य)

• sahasranayanodaraḥ: having a thousand eyes (in his body)
• sahasranayanodaraḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक) + nayana (प्रातिपदिक) + udara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः—बहुव्रीहिः (सहस्रं नयनानि उदरे/मध्ये यस्य)

Speaker

Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A boundless single ocean of dissolution; Padmanābha (Viṣṇu) asleep in yoganidrā, immense cosmic body with innumerable feet and eyes, radiating calm; the sense of time suspended before creation.

Characters & Entities

• Padmanābha (Viṣṇu)
• Ekārṇava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Amid dissolution, the Divine sustains and transcends time; contemplation of the cosmic Lord anchors faith beyond impermanence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single earthly tīrtha is named; this is a cosmological vision embedded within Revā Khaṇḍa’s tīrtha-centered narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse describes a theological-cosmological vision.