Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

सनाभिकमले विष्णो र्जातो ब्रह्मा हि लोककृत् । सर्वं जलमयं पश्यन्नानाकारमरूपकम्

Transliteration

sanābhikamale viṣṇo rjāto brahmā hi lokakṛt | sarvaṃ jalamayaṃ paśyannānākāramarūpakam

Translation

विष्णोर्नाभिकमलोत्पन्नो ब्रह्मा लोककृत् समभवत्। स सर्वं जलमयं पश्यन् निराकारं तथापि नानाविधरूपसमर्थं ददर्श॥

Word by Word

• sanābhikamale: in the lotus with a navel (navel-lotus)
• sanābhikamale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sa-nābhi-kamala (प्रातिपदिक; समास: sa + nābhi + kamala)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण (locative of place)

• viṣṇoḥ: of Viṣṇu
• viṣṇoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (genitive)

• jātaḥ: born
• jātaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु) → jāta (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (past passive participle/क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; भावे/कर्मणि प्रयोगः—‘born/produced’

• brahmā: Brahmā
• brahmā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; कर्ता

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

• lokakṛt: creator of the worlds
• lokakṛt: Karta (Apposition to subject/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka + kṛt (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक ‘kṛt’ from √kṛ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेष्य-विशेषणभावे—ब्रह्मणः उपाधिः

• sarvam: everything
• sarvam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म (object)

• jalamayam: made of water
• jalamayam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jala-maya (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; ‘sarvam’ इति विशेषणम्

• paśyan: seeing
• paśyan: Karta (Agent participle/कर्तृ-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु) → paśyat (कृदन्त, शतृ)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (present active participle/शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि—‘seeing’

• nānākāram: of many forms
• nānākāram: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nānā + ākāra (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘sarvam’ इति विशेषणम्

• arūpakam: formless
• arūpakam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-rūpaka (प्रातिपदिक; नञ्-समास)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘sarvam’ इति विशेषणम्

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice; context indicates a descriptive narration within Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast, dark-blue expanse of primordial waters; Viṣṇu reclining (yoga-nidrā) with a radiant lotus rising from his navel; Brahmā seated upon the lotus, gazing outward at a formless, watery universe shimmering with potential forms.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Brahmā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

All manifested forms arise from the Divine source; creation begins from the formless and is ordered by dharma-guided intelligence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it frames a cosmogonic prelude within the Dharmāraṇya section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse is descriptive, establishing the creation setting.