Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 11

Devanagari script

ईश्वर उवाच । अस्मिन्काले महादेवि वाराह इति विश्रुते । परार्द्धे तु द्वितीयेऽस्मिन्वर्तमाने तु वेधसः

Transliteration

īśvara uvāca | asminkāle mahādevi vārāha iti viśrute | parārddhe tu dvitīye'sminvartamāne tu vedhasaḥ

Translation

Īśvara sprach: O Mahādevī, in dieser Zeit, die als Vārāha (Kalpa) gerühmt wird, in der zweiten Hälfte der Lebensspanne des Schöpfers (Vedhas, Brahmā), die jetzt im Gange ist,—

Word by Word

• īśvaraḥ: Īśvara (the Lord)
• īśvaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत/परिपूर्णभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• asmin: in this
• asmin: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘kāle’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• kāle: time
• kāle: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• mahādevi: O Great Goddess
• mahādevi: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• vārāhaḥ: the Boar (Varāha)
• vārāhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārāha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• iti: thus, as
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/इत्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• viśrute: in the well-known (famed) [time]
• viśrute: Adhikarana (Location/Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi + śru (धातु) + viśruta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृत् (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘(asmin kāle)…’ इत्यत्र विशेषण-भावे ‘प्रसिद्धे’ (in the famed/known [time])

• parārddhe: in the parārdha (a vast time-period)
• parārddhe: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parārdha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (locative singular)

• tu: and/but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• dvitīye: in the second
• dvitīye: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvitīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘parārddhe’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• asmin: in this
• asmin: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘parārddhe’ इत्यस्य पुनर्विशेषणम्

• vartamāne: while (it) was ongoing/present
• vartamāne: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vṛt (धातु) + vartamāna (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘(parārddhe)…’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम् (while it is ongoing)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle)

• vedhasaḥ: of Vedhas (Brahmā)
• vedhasaḥ: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vedhas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन (genitive singular)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (context)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Umā/Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Īśvara begins a formal narration, naming the Vārāha Kalpa and situating the story in the second parārdha of Brahmā’s lifespan; the tone shifts from question to authoritative cosmic timeline.

Characters & Entities

• Īśvara (Śiva)
• Mahādevī
• Vārāha Kalpa
• Vedhas (Brahmā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma situates sacred narratives within cosmic time, showing that divine acts are timeless yet intelligible through kalpa chronology.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra remains the narrative setting; the cosmological dating supports the authority of the site’s sacred tradition.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed here; the verse establishes the temporal frame for the ensuing account.