Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 21
Devanagari script
अष्टाविंशत्प्रमाणा मे कल्पा जातस्य भूतले । न दृष्टो न श्रुतो वासाविंद्रद्युम्नो नृपः क्षितौ
Transliteration
aṣṭāviṃśatpramāṇā me kalpā jātasya bhūtale | na dṛṣṭo na śruto vāsāviṃdradyumno nṛpaḥ kṣitau
Translation
لقد عشتُ على ظهر الأرض زمناً مقداره ثمانيةٌ وعشرون كَلْبَة؛ ومع ذلك، في هذه الأرض لم أرَ ولم أسمع حتى بملكٍ يُدعى إندراديومنَ.
Word by Word
aṣṭāviṃśat-pramāṇāḥhaving the measure of twenty-eight
aṣṭāviṃśat-pramāṇāḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootaṣṭāviṃśati (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; संख्या-तत्पुरुषः—“अष्टाविंशत् प्रमाणाः” (having the measure of 28)
meof me / my
me:
Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
TypeNoun
Rootasmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formषष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम
kalpāḥaeons (kalpas)
kalpāḥ:
Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootkalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन
jātasyaof (one) born
jātasya:
Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
TypeAdjective
Rootjan (धातु) → jāta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
Formपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle)
bhūtaleon the earth’s surface
bhūtale:
Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootbhū-tala (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—भूः + तलम्
nanot
na:
Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootna (अव्यय)
Formनिषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)
dṛṣṭaḥseen
dṛṣṭaḥ:
Pradhāna-predicative (Predicate/विधेय)
TypeAdjective
Rootdṛś (धातु) → dṛṣṭa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त
nanot
na:
Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootna (अव्यय)
Formनिषेध-अव्यय
śrutaḥheard of
śrutaḥ:
Pradhāna-predicative (Predicate/विधेय)
TypeAdjective
Rootśru (धातु) → śruta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त
vāsāviṃdradyumnaḥVāsavi-Indradyumna (a king’s name)
vāsāviṃdradyumnaḥ:
Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootvāsavi (प्रातिपदिक) + indradyumna (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—“वāsavi (इन्द्रसम्बन्धी) इव/सदृशः इन्द्रद्युम्नः” (name)
nṛpaḥking
nṛpaḥ:
Apposition (Samānādhikaraṇa/समानाधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootnṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन
kṣitauon earth
kṣitau:
Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootkṣiti (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन
Speaker
Kauśika
Visual Art Cues
Scene: A king confronts an ancient being who speaks of twenty-eight kalpas; the king’s courtly grandeur is dwarfed by the speaker’s cosmic memory.
Characters & Entities
I
IndradyumnaFAQs
Fame and worldly records vanish across cosmic time; only dharma and devotion endure beyond eras.
No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse emphasizes vast cosmic chronology.
None.