Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

वसन्तकामाप्सरस ऊचुः । पश्याम नादिं तव देव नान्तं न मध्यमव्याकृतरूपपारम् । परायणं त्वां जगतामनन्तं नताः स्म नारायणमात्मभूतम्

Transliteration

vasantakāmāpsarasa ūcuḥ | paśyāma nādiṃ tava deva nāntaṃ na madhyamavyākṛtarūpapāram | parāyaṇaṃ tvāṃ jagatāmanantaṃ natāḥ sma nārāyaṇamātmabhūtam

Translation

اپسرا وسنتا اور کاما نے کہا: “اے دیو! ہم نہ تیری ابتدا دیکھتے ہیں نہ انتہا، نہ کوئی وسط؛ تیرے روپ کا کنارا اَویَکت ہے۔ تو جہانوں کا اعلیٰ پناہ گاہ، لامحدود ہے۔ ہم نرائن کو نمسکار کرتے ہیں، جو سب کا عینِ آتما ہے۔”

Word by Word

• vasanta-kāma-apsarasaḥ: Vasanta, Kāma, and the apsarases
• vasanta-kāma-apsarasaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vasanta + kāma + apsaras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास (समाहार/इतरेतर): वसन्तः, कामः, अप्सरसः (समूह)

• ūcuḥ: said
• ūcuḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; = they said

• paśyāma: we see
• paśyāma: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: paś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, उत्तमपुरुष (1st), बहुवचन; = we see

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• ādim: beginning
• ādim: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; = beginning

• tava: of you
• tava: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; = of you/your

• deva: O Lord
• deva: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन; = O god

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• antam: end
• antam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; = end

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• madhyam: middle
• madhyam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhya (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; = middle

• avyākṛta-rūpa-pāram: whose form/limit is unmanifest
• avyākṛta-rūpa-pāram: Karman (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-vyākṛta + rūpa + pāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुष: अव्याकृतं रूपं यस्य/यत्र तत् पारम् (limit) = whose form/limit is unmanifest/indescribable; विशेषण (to ‘madhyam’)

• parāyaṇam: supreme refuge
• parāyaṇam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; = supreme refuge/ultimate resort

• tvām: you
• tvām: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; = you

• jagatām: of the worlds
• jagatām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन; = of worlds/of beings

• anantam: endless
• anantam: Karman (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: an-anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; विशेषण (to ‘tvām’)

• natāḥ: bowed down
• natāḥ: Karta (Subject-state/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nam (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन, पुं/स्त्री (context: speakers); = bowed

• sma: indeed
• sma: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sma (अव्यय)
• Form: स्म-शब्दः (particle) भूतार्थ/स्मरणार्थ; here with participle: ‘indeed/just’

• nārāyaṇam: Nārāyaṇa
• nārāyaṇam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārāyaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; = Nārāyaṇa

• ātma-bhūtam: the indwelling Self
• ātma-bhūtam: Karman (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ātman + bhūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष: आत्मा-भूतः = who has become the Self/innermost self; विशेषण (to ‘nārāyaṇam’)

Speaker

Apsarases Vasantā and Kāma

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two apsarases (Vasantā and Kāma) step forward, hands folded, addressing an unseen infinite presence; the background suggests riverbank and celestial assembly; the Lord indicated by vast radiance rather than bounded icon.

Characters & Entities

• Vasantā
• Kāma (Apsaras)
• Nārāyaṇa
• the worlds (jagat)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Infinite Lord transcends all measures; surrender to Nārāyaṇa as the inner Self is the highest refuge.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is primarily a Vaiṣṇava stuti; the broader Revā Khaṇḍa context relates to the Revā/Narmadā sacred region, but no single tīrtha is named here.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a hymn of bowing (praṇāma) and theological affirmation.