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

ਸਾਰੇ ਜਗਤ ਨੂੰ ਡੁਬੋ ਕੇ, ਜਦ ਸਭ ਕੁਝ ਇਕੋ ਮਹਾਸਮੁੰਦਰ ਬਣ ਗਿਆ, ਉਹ ਨਿਰਮਲ ਜਲ ਉੱਤੇ ਸੁੱਤਾ ਅਤੇ ਆਪਣੀ ਮਾਇਆ ਨਾਲ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਆਪਣੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਸਮੇਟ ਲਿਆ।

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• संक्षिप्य: having withdrawn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• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund): “having contracted/withdrawn”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.