Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 55

Devanagari script

वियत्पयोदग्रहचक्रचित्रं नानाविधैः प्राणिगणैर्वृतं च । तां वै न पश्यामि महानुभावां गोरूपिणीं सर्वसुरेश्वरीं च

Transliteration

viyatpayodagrahacakracitraṃ nānāvidhaiḥ prāṇigaṇairvṛtaṃ ca | tāṃ vai na paśyāmi mahānubhāvāṃ gorūpiṇīṃ sarvasureśvarīṃ ca

Translation

నేను ఆకాశాన్ని మేఘాలు, గ్రహాలు మరియు వాటి చక్రాకార గమనాలతో అలంకృతంగా చూస్తున్నాను; అది నానావిధ ప్రాణిసమూహాలతో చుట్టుముట్టబడి కూడా ఉంది. అయినా గోరూపిణిగా ప్రకాశించే, సమస్త దేవతల పరమేశ్వరి అయిన ఆ మహానుభావిని నేను చూడలేకపోతున్నాను.

Word by Word

• viyat-payoda-graha-cakra-citram: variegated with sky, clouds, planets, and circles
• viyat-payoda-graha-cakra-citram: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viyat + payoda + graha + cakra + citra (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1/2 प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः: 'having a picture/variegation of sky, clouds, planets, and circles'

• nānāvidhaiḥ: by various
• nānāvidhaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nānāvidha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3 तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन); agrees with prāṇigaṇaiḥ

• prāṇigaṇaiḥ: by groups of living beings
• prāṇigaṇaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇigaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Instrumental (3 तृतीया), Plural (बहुवचन); तत्पुरुषः: prāṇinām gaṇaḥ

• vṛtam: surrounded
• vṛtam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √vṛ (वृञ्) (धातु)
• Form: Past Passive Participle (क्त), Napumsaka (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative/Accusative (1/2), Singular; 'covered/surrounded'

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction (समुच्चय)

• tām: her/that (f.)
• tām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2 द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha/Emphasis (Nipāta)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; particle (निपात) of emphasis/assurance

• na: not
• na: Negation (Nipāta)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; negation particle (निषेध)

• paśyāmi: I see
• paśyāmi: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √paś (पश्य्) (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (लट्, Present), Parasmaipada, Uttama-puruṣa, Singular

• mahānubhāvām: of great majesty
• mahānubhāvām: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahā + anubhāva (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2), Singular; तत्पुरुषः: mahān anubhāvaḥ yasyāḥ sā

• go-rūpiṇīm: having the form of a cow
• go-rūpiṇīm: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: go + rūpin (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular; तत्पुरुषः: go-rūpaṃ yasyāḥ sā

• sarva-sura-īśvarīm: the mistress of all gods
• sarva-sura-īśvarīm: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva + sura + īśvarī (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular; तत्पुरुषः: sarveṣāṃ surāṇām īśvarī

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction

Speaker

Narrator in first person (frame speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-devī (Narmadā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (rājan)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast sky tapestry: clouds, planets, and circular orbital paths; below, multitudes of beings. The devotee searches for a radiant cow-formed goddess but she is absent from the frame, creating a poignant negative space.

Characters & Entities

• Graha (planets)
• Payoda (clouds)
• Sarva-sureśvarī (supreme goddess)
• Go-rūpiṇī (cow-formed goddess)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even when the cosmos is visible, the supreme divine presence may remain hidden—calling for deeper devotion and discernment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it remains within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s wider sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the cow-form motif indirectly resonates with dharmic reverence for the cow and goddess worship.