Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

यावत्पश्यामि मध्याह्ने स्नानकाल उपस्थिते । त्रैलोक्यं ज्वलनाकारं दुर्निरीक्षं दुरासदम्

Transliteration

yāvatpaśyāmi madhyāhne snānakāla upasthite | trailokyaṃ jvalanākāraṃ durnirīkṣaṃ durāsadam

Translation

Enquanto eu contemplava ao meio-dia, quando chegara o tempo do banho ritual, vi os três mundos assumirem a forma de um fogo ardente, impossível de fitar e impossível de se aproximar.

Word by Word

• yāvat: as long as; until
• yāvat: Sambandha (Temporal relation/कालसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (प्रातिपदिक/अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालपरिमाणवाचक/यावदर्थे (temporal limit: 'as long as/until')

• paśyāmi: I see
• paśyāmi: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: paś (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन (singular), परस्मैपद

• madhyāhne: at midday
• madhyāhne: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhyāhna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• snāna-kāle: at the time of bathing
• snāna-kāle: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (snānasya kālaḥ)

• upasthite: having arrived; present
• upasthite: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: upa-sthā (धातु) → upasthita (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), सप्तमी एकवचन, पुं/नपुं (context: kāle); 'present/arrived'

• trailokyam: the three worlds
• trailokyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक) + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (त्रयः लोकाः)

• jvalana-ākāram: having the form of fire
• jvalana-ākāram: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jvalana (प्रातिपदिक) + ākāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (ज्वलनस्य आकारः)

• dur-nirīkṣam: hard to look at
• dur-nirīkṣam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dur (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + nir-īkṣ (धातु) → nirīkṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष/नञ्-सदृश (दुष्करं निरीक्षणं यस्य)

• dur-āsadam: hard to approach
• dur-āsadam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dur (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + āsad (धातु) → āsada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (दुष्करम् आसादनम्/उपगमनम् यस्य)

Speaker

A first-person narrator within Revā-khaṇḍa (speaker not explicit in the excerpt; treated as the experiencing voice of the episode)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Addressed as ‘tāta’ (dear one/son) indicating an interlocutor in dialogue

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At midday by the Revā, the seer beholds the three worlds as a single mass of intolerable flame—an apocalyptic, tejas-filled panorama—while the riverbank remains a potential sanctuary.

Characters & Entities

• Trailokya (three worlds)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cosmic dissolution overwhelms ordinary human capacity; sacred times and acts (like snāna) are meaningful only when anchored in devotion and dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā/Narmadā milieu frames the narrative; the verse itself describes a universal fiery condition.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) is referenced as a time-marker, not as a detailed prescription.