Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मांडानि सहस्राणि दृश्यंते च महाद्युते । न वेत्ति वेदो यत्पारं शीर्षघातो हि वै कथम्

Transliteration

brahmāṃḍāni sahasrāṇi dṛśyaṃte ca mahādyute | na vetti vedo yatpāraṃ śīrṣaghāto hi vai katham

Translation

হে মহাদ্যুতে! সহস্র সহস্র ব্রহ্মাণ্ড দেখা যায়। যাঁর পরম সীমা বেদও জানে না, সেখানে ‘শিরোঘাত’—অর্থাৎ শেষ প্রান্তে পৌঁছানো—কেমন করে সম্ভব?

Word by Word

• brahmāṇḍāni: cosmic eggs/universes
• brahmāṇḍāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahma-aṇḍa (ब्रह्म + अण्ड प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (ब्रह्मणः अण्डम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• sahasrāṇi: thousands (of)
• sahasrāṇi: Karta (Qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (संख्यावाचक-विशेषण)

• dṛśyante: are seen
• dṛśyante: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (दृश् धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोग (are seen)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• mahā-dyute: O great-lustrous one
• mahā-dyute: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā-dyuti (महा + द्युति प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (‘महती द्युतिः यस्य’), पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (vocative), एकवचन

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

• vetti: knows
• vetti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vid (विद् धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• vedaḥ: the Veda
• vedaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• yat: which/that
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद् सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• pāram: the far end/limit
• pāram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• śīrṣa-ghātaḥ: head-strike / striking with the head
• śīrṣa-ghātaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śīrṣa-ghāta (शीर्ष + घात प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (शीर्षे घातः/शीर्षस्य घातः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात-अव्यय (indeed/for)

• vai: certainly
• vai: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात-अव्यय (certainly)

• katham: how?
• katham: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

Speaker

Yudhiṣṭhira (continuing question/context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visionary panorama: thousands of brahmāṇḍas like luminous eggs floating in vastness; a radiant, immeasurable divine presence beyond them; sages acknowledging that even Veda cannot reach the farthest shore—no ‘final head’ to strike or end to attain.

Characters & Entities

• Veda
• Brahmāṇḍas (universes)
• Mahādyuti (addressed figure, contextually Vyāsa or the interlocutor)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ultimate reality exceeds conceptual and textual limits; reverence and humility are the proper response to the Infinite.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is specified; the verse elevates the Dharmāraṇya narrative by situating it within vast Purāṇic cosmology.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a philosophical reflection on the limits of knowledge.