Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

महार्णवे ततस्तस्मिन् भ्रमन्गोः पुच्छमाश्रितः । निर्वाते चान्धकारे च निरालोके निरामये

Transliteration

mahārṇave tatastasmin bhramangoḥ pucchamāśritaḥ | nirvāte cāndhakāre ca nirāloke nirāmaye

Translation

پھر اُس مہاسَمُندر میں، گائے کی دُم کا سہارا لے کر بہتا پھرتا، میں بے ہوا تاریکی میں ٹھہرا رہا—بے نور، اور بے رنج۔

Word by Word

• महार्णवे: in the great ocean
• महार्णवे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular); समासः: कर्मधारय (महान् अर्णवः)

• ततः: then
• ततः: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• तस्मिन्: in that (place/state)
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• भ्रमन्: wandering
• भ्रमन्: Karta (Agent as participle/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भ्रम् (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ/Present active participle), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग; √भ्रम् (to wander/roam)

• गोः: of a cow
• गोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• पुच्छम्: tail
• पुच्छम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुच्छ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन (Singular)

• आश्रितः: having taken refuge in / clinging to
• आश्रितः: Karta (Predicate adjective/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ + श्रि (धातु); आश्रित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/Past passive participle), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग; √श्रि (to resort/lean on) with आ-

• निर्वाते: in a windless (state/place)
• निर्वाते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर् + वात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular); उपसर्ग-पूर्वक विशेषण (nirvāta = windless)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• अन्धकारे: in darkness
• अन्धकारे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्धकार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय-बोधक (conjunction)

• निरालोके: in (a place) without light
• निरालोके: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर् + आलोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (nirāloka = without light)

• निरामये: in (a state) free from affliction
• निरामये: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर् + आमय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (nirāmaya = free from disease/affliction)

Speaker

Unspecified (deduced: narrator describing survival by refuge)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) — contextual frame; mahārṇava is mythic setting

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A figure adrift in a vast dark ocean, holding the tail of a cow that floats serenely; the air is still, the scene paradoxically calm and ‘unafflicted’.

Characters & Entities

• Gauḥ (cow, implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Taking refuge in a divinely given support grants steadiness even amid ‘oceanic’ uncertainty; grace preserves one from affliction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā-khaṇḍa setting is primary; the verse itself emphasizes symbolic waters rather than a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the narrative models śaraṇāgati (seeking refuge).