Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

नीलोत्पलाभाः क्वचिदंजनाभा गोक्षीरकुन्देन्दुनिभाश्च केचित् । मयूरचन्द्राकृतयस्तथाऽन्ये केचिद्विधूमानलसप्रभाश्च

Transliteration

nīlotpalābhāḥ kvacidaṃjanābhā gokṣīrakundendunibhāśca kecit | mayūracandrākṛtayastathā'nye kecidvidhūmānalasaprabhāśca

Translation

บางก้อนดุจดอกบัวสีน้ำเงิน บางก้อนดำดุจอัญชัน (เขม่าตา) บางก้อนสว่างดุจน้ำนมวัว ดอกกุนทะ และจันทร์เพ็ญ บางก้อนมีรูปดุจนกยูงและพระจันทร์เสี้ยว และบางก้อนเรืองรองดุจไฟไร้ควัน

Word by Word

• नीलोत्पलाभाः: having the appearance of blue lotuses
• नीलोत्पलाभाः: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नील (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्पल (प्रातिपदिक) + आभा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘आभा’ (splendour/appearance) with उपमान-निर्देश (simile-base)

• क्वचित्: in some places / sometimes
• क्वचित्: Kriyavisheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्वचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—काल/देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: ‘somewhere/sometimes’)

• अंजनाभाः: having the look of collyrium (dark/black)
• अंजनाभाः: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अंजन (प्रातिपदिक) + आभा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण

• गोक्षीर: cow’s milk
• गोक्षीर: Upamana (Simile member)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक) + क्षीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासपद (cow’s milk) used as compound-member

• कुन्द: jasmine (kunda flower)
• कुन्द: Upamana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुन्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (jasmine)

• इन्दु: moon
• इन्दु: Upamana
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्दु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; समासाङ्ग (moon)

• निभाः: resembling
• निभाः: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘like/resembling’ (upamā-vācaka)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—समुच्चयबोधक (conjunction)

• केचित्: some
• केचित्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम—‘some (persons/things)’

• मयूरचन्द्राकृतयः: forms shaped like peacock-moons (crescent-like)
• मयूरचन्द्राकृतयः: Karta (Subject/appositional)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मयूर (प्रातिपदिक) + चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक) + आकृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘आकृति’—रूपवाचक; समासः उपमान-निर्देशः

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Kriyavisheshana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—रीतिवाचक/समुच्चयार्थ (adverb: ‘thus/likewise’)

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘others’

• केचित्: some
• केचित्: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• विधूम: smokeless
• विधूम: Visheshana (compound member)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-धूम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (समासाङ्ग), ‘smokeless’; समासपूर्वपद

• अनल: fire
• अनल: Upamana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘fire’; समासाङ्ग

• सप्रभाः: having the radiance (of smokeless fire)
• सप्रभाः: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स (उपसर्ग/सह-प्रातिपदिक) + प्रभा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; बहिर्वृत्तिः ‘with splendour’; here as ‘having the lustre (of …)’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय—समुच्चयबोधक

Speaker

Śrī Markaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha-region (contextual)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sky filled with many kinds of clouds: some blue like nīlotpala, some black like añjana, some white like milk/jasmine/moon; others shaped like peacocks and crescents; some glowing like smokeless fire—an ominous, beautiful prelude to cosmic rain.

Characters & Entities

• Pralaya clouds
• Moon (indu/candra)
• Peacock (mayūra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Purāṇas use vivid forms to teach awe and detachment: the universe’s beauty and terror alike are transient displays within time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not a specific site in this verse; it supports the Revā Khaṇḍa’s larger praise of Narmadā by portraying the scale of pralaya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is descriptive (rūpa-varṇana) of the pralaya clouds.