Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 6

Devanagari script

तस्याश्चरणविक्षेपैः सर्वमेकार्णवं जलम् । विक्षिप्तफेनपुञ्जौघैर्नृत्यन्तीव समं ततः

Transliteration

tasyāścaraṇavikṣepaiḥ sarvamekārṇavaṃ jalam | vikṣiptaphenapuñjaughairnṛtyantīva samaṃ tataḥ

Translation

Nhờ những bước chân mau lẹ của nàng, toàn thể nước ấy như hóa thành một Mahārṇava—một đại hải vũ trụ. Những khối bọt tung trào dồn dập khiến tưởng như nước đang múa khắp mọi nơi.

Word by Word

• तस्याः: of her
• तस्याः: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Pronoun, Genitive (6th), Singular

• चरण-विक्षेपैः: by the tossing/throwing of (her) feet
• चरण-विक्षेपैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चरण (प्रातिपदिक) + विक्षेप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; ‘चरणस्य विक्षेपः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural

• सर्वम्: all, entire
• सर्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular

• एक-अर्णवम्: like one ocean; an oceanic mass
• एक-अर्णवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः ‘एकः अर्णवः इव’; Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular

• जलम्: water
• जलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Neuter, Nom/Acc, Singular

• विक्षिप्त-फेन-पुञ्ज-ओघैः: with torrents of scattered heaps of foam
• विक्षिप्त-फेन-पुञ्ज-ओघैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विक्षिप्त (कृदन्त; √क्षिप्) + फेन (प्रातिपदिक) + पुञ्ज (प्रातिपदिक) + ओघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः ‘विक्षिप्ताः फेनपुञ्जाः येषां ते ओघाः’; Masculine, Instrumental (3rd), Plural

• नृत्यन्ती: dancing
• नृत्यन्ती: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नृत्यत् (कृदन्त; √नृत्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ); Feminine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• इव: as if
• इव: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमा-अव्यय (particle of comparison)

• समम्: evenly, altogether
• समम्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual, within Revā Khaṇḍa narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Implied Purāṇic audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The cow’s hooves strike and scatter foam; the entire expanse becomes a single cosmic ocean; white foam arcs like garlands; the waters appear to dance in rhythmic waves.

Characters & Entities

• Revā (Narmadā)
• Ekārṇava (cosmic deluge/ocean)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine śakti can transform fearsome chaos (the deluge) into a controlled, auspicious order—seen here as the ‘dancing’ waters under the Goddess’s power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Revā/Narmadā herself is glorified as a living tīrtha whose presence sanctifies and protects even amid cosmic dissolution imagery.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed in this verse; it is a descriptive mahātmya passage praising the river-goddess’s power.