Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

महाकल्पे च संप्राप्ते चराचरे क्षयं गते । जलरूपी जगन्नाथो रममाणस्तु लीलया

Transliteration

mahākalpe ca saṃprāpte carācare kṣayaṃ gate | jalarūpī jagannātho ramamāṇastu līlayā

Translation

Und als der große Kalpa eintrat und alles Bewegliche und Unbewegliche zugrunde ging, blieb der Herr des Weltalls, in Wasserform, spielend in seiner Līlā bestehen.

Word by Word

• महाकल्पे: in the great aeon
• महाकल्पे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाकल्प (प्रातिपदिक: महा + कल्प)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचन (locative singular); समास: महा(विशेषण) + कल्प

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• संप्राप्ते: when (it) had arrived
• संप्राप्ते: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सं + √प्राप् (धातु) + क्त
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचन; locative absolute with महाकल्पे

• चराचरे: in the moving and unmoving (world)
• चराचरे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चराचर (प्रातिपदिक: चर + अचर)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचन (locative singular); द्वन्द्व: चर (moving) + अचर (non-moving)

• क्षयम्: destruction
• क्षयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (accusative singular)

• गते: when (it) had gone to
• गते: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √गम् (धातु) + क्त
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी विभक्ति, एकवचन; locative absolute with चराचरे

• जलरूपी: having the form of water
• जलरूपी: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जलरूपिन् (प्रातिपदिक: जल + रूपिन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; समास: जलस्य रूपम् (having the form of water)

• जगन्नाथः: Lord of the universe
• जगन्नाथः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगन्नाथ (प्रातिपदिक: जगत् + नाथ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; समास: जगतः नाथः

• रममाणः: sporting, delighting
• रममाणः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √रम् (धातु) + शानच् (आत्मनेपद वर्तमान कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमान कृदन्त (शानच्), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; present middle participle

• तु: but, indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (contrast/emphasis particle)

• लीलया: by play, sportively
• लीलया: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लीला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन (instrumental singular)

Speaker

Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Pralaya-jala (symbolic)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A boundless ocean under a dark-blue sky; all worlds dissolved. In the center, the Lord as the very essence of water—suggested by a luminous presence—rests in playful serenity.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Jagannātha (the Lord)
• Mahākalpa
• Pralaya (implied)
• Water (jala)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Supreme remains untouched by dissolution; what appears as cosmic ending is within divine līlā and order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific site is named; the verse supplies cosmological context that often undergirds a place’s māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it narrates the state of the Lord during cosmic dissolution.