Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मांडांतरतः किं तु रुद्रं मन्यामहे वयम् । तदा चराचरं नष्टं ब्रह्मविष्णुपुरोगमम्

Transliteration

brahmāṃḍāṃtarataḥ kiṃ tu rudraṃ manyāmahe vayam | tadā carācaraṃ naṣṭaṃ brahmaviṣṇupurogamam

Translation

Doch wo, innerhalb des brahmāṇḍa, verstehen wir Rudra zu sein? Denn damals wurde alles Bewegliche und Unbewegliche—angeführt von Brahmā und Viṣṇu—vernichtet.

Word by Word

• ब्रह्माण्डान्तरतः: from inside the universe
• ब्रह्माण्डान्तरतः: Apadana (Source/Place-from/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ब्रह्माण्ड-अन्तर-तः (प्रातिपदिक + तस्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त-अव्यय (ablatival adverb: ‘from within’); तत्पुरुष-समास (ब्रह्माण्डस्य अन्तरम्)

• किम्: what?
• किम्: Sambandha (Interrogation/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative particle)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषण-अव्यय (particle: ‘but/indeed’)

• रुद्रम्: Rudra
• रुद्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• मन्यामहे: we think/consider
• मन्यामहे: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √मन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), उत्तमपुरुष, बहुवचन; आत्मनेपद

• वयम्: we
• वयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), बहुवचन

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय

• चराचरम्: the moving and the unmoving (all creation)
• चराचरम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चर-अचर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास (चर + अचर)

• नष्टम्: destroyed
• नष्टम्: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √नश् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; चराचरम्-विशेषण

• ब्रह्मविष्णुपुरोगमम्: with Brahmā and Viṣṇu at the forefront
• ब्रह्मविष्णुपुरोगमम्: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्म-विष्णु-पुरोगम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (ब्रह्मविष्णू पुरोगमौ यस्य/यत् = having Brahmā and Viṣṇu in front/at the head)

Speaker

Sages (Munis) addressing Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra (Kedārakṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Munis (sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sages gesture toward an imagined cosmic shell now empty; silhouettes of Brahmā and Viṣṇu fade like smoke; the question ‘where is Rudra?’ is visualized as an upward gaze into boundless space beyond the broken brahmāṇḍa.

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Brahmā
• Viṣṇu
• Brahmāṇḍa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The sages probe the transcendence of Rudra—how the divine can remain when all cosmic supports collapse.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the verse is part of Kedāra Khaṇḍa’s doctrinal narrative arc.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.