Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 28

Devanagari script

न च वायुर्न वाकाशं नाहंकारो न वा महत् । न चाव्यक्तं न कालश्च न महाप्रकृतिस्तथा

Transliteration

na ca vāyurna vākāśaṃ nāhaṃkāro na vā mahat | na cāvyaktaṃ na kālaśca na mahāprakṛtistathā

Translation

Es gab weder Wind noch Äther; weder das Ich-Prinzip (ahaṃkāra) noch das große kosmische Prinzip (mahat). Es gab kein Unmanifestes (avyakta), keine Zeit, und ebenso keine Mahāprakṛti.

Word by Word

• न: not/no
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध निपात

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक निपात

• वायुः: wind
• वायुः: Karta (Subject—negated/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध निपात

• वा: or/indeed
• वा: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक निपात (or/indeed; here emphatic in negation series)

• आकाशम्: space/ether
• आकाशम्: Karta (Subject—negated/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ākāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध निपात

• अहंकारः: ego-principle
• अहंकारः: Karta (Subject—negated/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahaṃkāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध निपात

• वा: or/indeed
• वा: Sambandha (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विकल्पार्थक/बलार्थक निपात

• महत्: mahat (cosmic intellect)
• महत्: Karta (Subject—negated/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सांख्यतत्त्वनाम

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध निपात

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक निपात

• अव्यक्तम्: the unmanifest
• अव्यक्तम्: Karta (Subject—negated/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: avyakta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; सांख्यतत्त्वनाम

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध निपात

• कालः: time
• कालः: Karta (Subject—negated/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक निपात

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध निपात

• महाप्रकृतिः: Mahāprakṛti (great primordial nature)
• महाप्रकृतिः: Karta (Subject—negated/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + prakṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारय (महती प्रकृतिः)

• तथा: thus, likewise
• तथा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक/समुच्चयार्थक निपात

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A near-void where even air and ether are ‘absent’; only the suggestion of a luminous, formless axis remains; symbols of ego and time dissolve like smoke.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the subtlest categories (time, unmanifest nature, cosmic principles) are portrayed as dissolving before the Śaiva Absolute.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kedāra-kṣetra is the broader setting; the verse supports the liṅga’s supreme status associated with Kedāra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the focus is doctrinal—describing dissolution (laya) in relation to the liṅga.