Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

अथान्ये भूतपतयो लोकसंहरणे क्षमाः । महाकालश्च नंदी च तथा वै शंखपालकौ

Transliteration

athānye bhūtapatayo lokasaṃharaṇe kṣamāḥ | mahākālaśca naṃdī ca tathā vai śaṃkhapālakau

Translation

ثم كان هناك سادةٌ آخرون للبهوتا، قادرون حتى على إحداث فناء العوالم: مهاكالا، وناندي، وكذلك الاثنان المسمَّيان شانخا وبالاكا.

Word by Word

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: Ārambha/Anantara-bodhaka-avyaya (particle/adverb: ‘then/now’)

• anye: others
• anye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• bhūtapatayaḥ: lords of beings
• bhūtapatayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta (प्रातिपदिक) + pati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Bahuvacana (Plural); समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘of beings’ + ‘lords’)

• lokasaṃharaṇe: in the dissolution of the world
• lokasaṃharaṇe: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃharaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), Saptamī (7th/Locative), Ekavacana (Singular); समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘of the world’ + ‘destruction/withdrawal’)

• kṣamāḥ: capable, competent
• kṣamāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Bahuvacana (Plural); विशेषणम्

• mahākālaḥ: Mahākāla
• mahākālaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Ekavacana (Singular); समासः—कर्मधारयः (‘great’ + ‘Time’; name)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (conjunction/समुच्चय)

• nandī: Nandī
• nandī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nandī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Ekavacana (Singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-nipāta (conjunction/समुच्चय)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (adverb/क्रियाविशेषण)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (particle/emphasis)

• śaṃkhapālakau: the two Śaṅkhapālakas
• śaṃkhapālakau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaṃkha (प्रातिपदिक) + pālaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā (1st/Nominative), Dvivacana (Dual); समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘of conch’ + ‘guardians’/name)

Speaker

Narrator (context not specified in snippet; likely a purāṇic narrator within Brahmottarakhaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mahākāla (name resonance)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A formidable procession of spirit-lords: Mahākāla towering with time-symbols, Nandī steadfast as Śiva’s gatekeeper, and two gaṇa figures Śaṅkha and Pālaka standing as sentinels, all set against a dark, cosmic backdrop suggesting pralaya-power.

Characters & Entities

• Bhūtapatis
• Mahākāla
• Nandī
• Śaṅkha
• Pālaka

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śiva’s retinue embodies divine power over creation and dissolution, reminding that cosmic order includes transformative and fearsome guardians.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is explicitly named, though the name Mahākāla is strongly associated in Purāṇic tradition with Ujjain’s Mahākāleśvara.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse lists beings and their cosmic capacity.