Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

द्वादशादित्यनिर्दग्धे जगत्येकार्णवीकृते । श्रान्तोऽहं विभ्रमंस्तत्र तरन्बाहुभिरर्णवम्

Transliteration

dvādaśādityanirdagdhe jagatyekārṇavīkṛte | śrānto'haṃ vibhramaṃstatra taranbāhubhirarṇavam

Translation

பன்னிரண்டு ஆதித்யர்கள் உலகைச் சுட்டெரித்துப் அதை ஒரே பெருங்கடலாக்கியபோது, நான் களைப்புடன் அங்கே அலைந்து, என் கரங்களால் அந்த வெள்ளத்தை நீந்திச் சென்றேன்.

Word by Word

• dvādaśa-āditya-nirdagdhe: when (the world) was burnt by the twelve suns
• dvādaśa-āditya-nirdagdhe: Adhikaraṇa (Locative setting)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvādaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + āditya (प्रातिपदिक) + nir-dagdha (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन; समासः ‘dvādaśabhiḥ ādityaiḥ nirdagdhe’ (instrumental sense within compound); विशेषणम् (jagati)

• jagati: in the world
• jagati: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन

• eka-ārṇavī-kṛte: turned into one ocean
• eka-ārṇavī-kṛte: Adhikaraṇa (Locative setting)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + ārṇavī (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन; समासार्थः ‘ekārṇavībhūte’ (made into a single ocean); विशेषणम् (jagati)

• śrāntaḥ: exhausted
• śrāntaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śrānta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √śram)
• Form: क्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (aham)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन

• vibhraman: wandering
• vibhraman: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Concomitant action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-bhram (धातु)
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; ‘wandering/roaming’

• tatra: there
• tatra: Deśa-adhikaraṇa (Place)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of place)

• taran: crossing / swimming across
• taran: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Concomitant action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: tṛ (धातु)
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), एकवचन; ‘crossing/swimming’

• bāhubhiḥ: with (my) arms
• bāhubhiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bāhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental), बहुवचन

• arṇavam: the ocean
• arṇavam: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arṇava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

A narrator-sage (speaker within Revā Khaṇḍa dialogue; not explicit in the snippet)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nareśvara (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The earth is scorched by twelve suns; all becomes a single ocean. A lone exhausted seer swims through endless flood under a blazing sky.

Characters & Entities

• Ādityas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Worldly supports collapse during pralaya; endurance alone is insufficient—one must seek divine guidance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it forms the cosmological preface within the Revā Khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None stated.