Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

प्लावयित्वा जगत्सर्वं तस्मिन्नेकार्णवीकृते । सुष्वाप विमले तोये जगत्संक्षिप्य मायया

Transliteration

plāvayitvā jagatsarvaṃ tasminnekārṇavīkṛte | suṣvāpa vimale toye jagatsaṃkṣipya māyayā

Translation

സകല ജഗത്തെയും പ്ലാവനം ചെയ്ത്, എല്ലാം ഒരൊറ്റ മഹാസമുദ്രമായപ്പോൾ, അവൻ മായയാൽ ലോകങ്ങളെ തന്റെ ഉള്ളിൽ സംക്ഷിപ്തമാക്കി നിർമല ജലത്തിൽ ശയിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• प्लावयित्वा: having flooded
• प्लावयित्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्लु (धातु) [णिच् causative: प्लावय]
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund); णिच्-प्रयोग (having flooded)

• जगत्: the world
• जगत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• सर्वम्: entire
• सर्वम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (all/entire)

• तस्मिन्: in that (state)
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (in that)

• एकार्णवीकृते: having become a single ocean
• एकार्णवीकृते: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक + अर्णव + कृ (धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; कृ-धातोः क्त (PPP) “made”; एक-अर्णव (तत्पुरुषः: “single ocean”) + कृत; विशेषणम् (when it had become one ocean)

• सुष्वाप: slept
• सुष्वाप: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्वप् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• विमले: in the pure
• विमले: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विमल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (in pure/clear)

• तोये: water
• तोये: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• जगत्: the world
• जगत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• संक्षिप्य: having withdrawn
• संक्षिप्य: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम्+क्षिप् (धातु)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund): “having contracted/withdrawn”

• मायया: by (his) māyā
• मायया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन (instrumental)

Speaker

Undetermined (narrative voice within Revā Khaṇḍa; likely a Purāṇic narrator addressing a listener)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (nṛpasattama)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: All becomes a single ocean; the Lord sleeps upon the pure waters, having drawn the worlds into himself by māyā—stillness after cosmic upheaval.

Characters & Entities

• Māyā
• Ekārṇava (single ocean)
• Maheśvara (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Creation and dissolution occur within the Divine; the cosmos is gathered back through māyā, pointing to the supremacy of the transcendent Lord.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tirtha is named; the verse serves the broader Revā Khaṇḍa frame that elevates the sacred landscape by cosmic context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it presents cosmological doctrine rather than a rite.