Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

मार्कण्डेय उवाच । पुनर्युगान्ते सम्प्राप्ते तृतीये नृपसत्तम । दादशार्कवपुर्भूत्वा भगवान्नीललोहितः

Transliteration

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca | punaryugānte samprāpte tṛtīye nṛpasattama | dādaśārkavapurbhūtvā bhagavānnīlalohitaḥ

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya said: When the third yugānta came again, O best of kings, the Blessed Lord Nīlalohita assumed a form blazing like twelve suns.

Word by Word

• मार्कण्डेयः: Mārkaṇḍeya
• मार्कण्डेयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मार्कण्डेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; वक्ता (speaker)

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरावृत्तिवाचक (indeclinable: “again”)

• युगान्ते: at the end of the yuga
• युगान्ते: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युगान्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; युग+अन्त (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: “end of an age”); अधिकरण

• सम्प्राप्ते: having arrived
• सम्प्राप्ते: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्+प्र+आप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (when [it] had arrived)

• तृतीये: in the third
• तृतीये: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृतीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक विशेषणम् (in the third)

• नृपसत्तम: O best of kings
• नृपसत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृपसत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/सम्बोधन), एकवचन; नृप+सत्तम (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः: “best of kings”)

• दादशार्कवपुः: a body (splendour) of twelve suns
• दादशार्कवपुः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वादश + अर्क + वपुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd) एकवचन (समासान्त-रूप); द्वादश-अर्क-वपुस् (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-समासः: “body like twelve suns”)

• भूत्वा: having become
• भूत्वा: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund/absolutive): “having become”

• भगवान्: the Blessed Lord
• भगवान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• नीललोहितः: Nīlalohita (blue-red one)
• नीललोहितः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नील + लोहित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; नील+लोहित (द्वन्द्वः/समाहार-द्वन्द्वः: “blue-and-red [one]”, epithet of Rudra)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: King (nṛpasattama)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Mārkaṇḍeya narrates to a king: at the third yugānta, Nīlalohita appears as a blazing form like twelve suns, filling the cosmos with unbearable radiance.

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Nīlalohita (Rudra/Śiva)
• King (listener, implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

At cosmic endings, Rudra’s blazing manifestation represents the purifying power that dissolves worlds and renews dharma’s cycle.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single locality is named in this verse; it shifts the Revā Khaṇḍa narrative into a cosmological frame connected to Śiva’s manifestations.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse introduces a cosmological event and a specific Rudra-form (Nīlalohita).