Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

पुरा ब्रह्मदिनस्यांते जगदेतच्चराचरम् । संहृत्य भगवान्रुद्रो ब्रह्मविष्णुपुरस्कृतः

Transliteration

purā brahmadinasyāṃte jagadetaccarācaram | saṃhṛtya bhagavānrudro brahmaviṣṇupuraskṛtaḥ

Translation

Einst, am Ende des Tages Brahmās, zog der erhabene Rudra—Brahmā und Viṣṇu voran und an seiner Seite—diese ganze Welt, das Bewegliche und das Unbewegliche, in die Auflösung zurück.

Word by Word

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Kāla (Time adjunct/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• ब्रह्मदिनस्य: of Brahmā's day
• ब्रह्मदिनस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् + दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (brahmaṇaḥ dinam)

• अन्ते: at the end
• अन्ते: Adhikarana (Location/Time locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• जगत्: the world
• जगत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Viśeṣaṇa (Determiner/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; निर्देशवाचक सर्वनाम

• चराचरम्: moving and unmoving
• चराचरम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चर + अचर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्वः (cara + acara)

• संहृत्य: having withdrawn/destroyed
• संहृत्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + √हृ (धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; अर्थः—संहृत्य (having withdrawn/destroyed)

• भगवान्: the blessed/lordly
• भगवान्: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण (honorific)

• रुद्रः: Rudra
• रुद्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• ब्रह्मविष्णुपुरस्कृतः: preceded/honored by Brahmā and Viṣṇu
• ब्रह्मविष्णुपुरस्कृतः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्मन् + विष्णु + पुरस् + √कृ (धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP) from पुरस्कृ (to place in front/honor), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (brahmaviṣṇū puraskṛtya / brahmaviṣṇubhyāṃ puraskṛtaḥ)

Speaker

Sārasvata

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (within Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja (unnamed king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the end of Brahmā’s day, Rudra stands as the cosmic dissolver; Brahmā and Viṣṇu attend as the moving and unmoving universe is withdrawn into a single vast stillness.

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Brahmā
• Viṣṇu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cosmic cycles are governed by dharmic order: dissolution is not chaos but the ordained function of Rudra within the Trimūrti.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

The verse is part of the Vastrāpatha-kṣetra māhātmya narrative frame; it offers cosmological grounding rather than naming a tīrtha directly.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the passage establishes theological context for the māhātmya.