Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

सूत उवाच । अनादिनिधनः कालः संख्यया परिवर्जितः । असंख्याता गता मोक्षं ब्रह्मविष्णुमहेश्वराः

Transliteration

sūta uvāca | anādinidhanaḥ kālaḥ saṃkhyayā parivarjitaḥ | asaṃkhyātā gatā mokṣaṃ brahmaviṣṇumaheśvarāḥ

Translation

Sūta sprach: „Die Zeit ist ohne Anfang und ohne Ende und entzieht sich jeder Zählung. Unzählige Brahmās, Viṣṇus und Maheśvaras sind zur Befreiung gelangt.“

Word by Word

• sūtaḥ: Sūta
• sūtaḥ: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्ष/परिपूर्ण भूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• anādi-nidhanaḥ: beginningless and endless
• anādi-nidhanaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anādi + nidhana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; द्वन्द्व-समासः (anādi ca nidhanaṃ ca) अर्थे ‘beginningless and endless’

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

• saṃkhyayā: by number/counting
• saṃkhyayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃkhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन

• parivarjitaḥ: excluded/left out
• parivarjitaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pari + √vṛj (धातु) → parivarjita (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगः ‘excluded’

• asaṃkhyātāḥ: countless
• asaṃkhyātāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a + saṃkhyāta (प्रातिपदिक; √khyā)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन

• gatāḥ: have gone/attained
• gatāḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam (धातु) → gata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोगः

• mokṣam: liberation
• mokṣam: Gati-Karma (Goal/Object of motion/गतिकर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• brahma-viṣṇu-maheśvarāḥ: Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara
• brahma-viṣṇu-maheśvarāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahmā + viṣṇu + maheśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः

Speaker

Sūta

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sūtaputra is addressed by sages (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūta speaks with calm authority; behind him, a visionary cosmic backdrop suggests endless time—wheels of time, dissolving universes, and symbolic forms of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara fading into light of liberation.

Characters & Entities

• Kāla
• Brahmā
• Viṣṇu
• Maheśvara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Because time is immeasurable and cyclical, liberation is not limited by one lifespan or one cosmos; mokṣa remains a real possibility across ages.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is named in this verse; it supports the Tīrthamāhātmya worldview by framing liberation within vast cosmic time.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it is a doctrinal clarification about kāla and mokṣa.