Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

का सा पद्मपलाशाक्षी तमोभूते महार्णवे । योगिवद्भ्रमते नित्यं रुद्रजां स्वां च याब्रवीत्

Transliteration

kā sā padmapalāśākṣī tamobhūte mahārṇave | yogivadbhramate nityaṃ rudrajāṃ svāṃ ca yābravīt

Translation

ആ പദ്മപലാശാക്ഷിയായ കന്യ ആരാണ്? തമസ്സായി മാറിയ മഹാർണവത്തിൽ യോഗിനിയെപ്പോലെ നിത്യവും സഞ്ചരിച്ച്, ‘ഞാൻ രുദ്രജ’ എന്നു സ്വയം പറഞ്ഞവൾ ആരാണ്?

Word by Word

• kā: who? (which woman?)
• kā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम

• sā: she/that (woman)
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; निर्देशवाचक-सर्वनाम

• padma-palāśa-akṣī: lotus-leaf-eyed
• padma-palāśa-akṣī: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: padma (प्रातिपदिक) + palāśa (प्रातिपदिक) + akṣī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (padma-palāśa-sadṛśe akṣiṇī yasyāḥ)

• tamo-bhūte: in the darkened
• tamo-bhūte: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tamas (प्रातिपदिक) + bhūta (कृदन्त; भू (धातु) क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तमोभूत=तमसि भूते (अन्धकारमय)

• mahā-arṇave: in the great ocean
• mahā-arṇave: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (अव्यय/उपसर्गसदृश) + arṇava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; महाऽर्णव=महान् अर्णवः

• yogi-vat: like a yogin
• yogi-vat: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yogin (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (तद्धित प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमानवाचक (like/as)

• bhramate: wanders/roams
• bhramate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhram (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• nityam: always
• nityam: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nitya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• rudra-jām: (as) Rudra’s daughter
• rudra-jām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक) + jā (प्रातिपदिक; जन (धातु) से)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (रुद्रस्य जा)

• svām: her own
• svām: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम-विशेषण)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; आत्मीयवाचक

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• yā: who (she who)
• yā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक (relative pronoun)

• abravīt: said/spoke
• abravīt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: brū (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Yudhiṣṭhira

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira (explicit in nearby verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lotus-eyed dark maiden moves alone across a vast ocean turned to darkness, like a yoginī in effortless wandering; the horizon is minimal, the cosmos in suspension.

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Lotus-petal-eyed maiden (unnamed)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇas invite inquiry into divine origins and cosmic symbolism, linking yogic wandering with transcendent birth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None is specified in this question-verse; it sets up an origin account rather than praising a named tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is an interrogative verse introducing a forthcoming narrative.