अचंद्रमनहोरात्रमनग्न्यनिलभूतलम् । अप्रधानं वियच्छून्यमन्यतेजोविवर्धितम्
acaṃdramanahorātramanagnyanilabhūtalam | apradhānaṃ viyacchūnyamanyatejovivardhitam
There was no moon, no day or night; no fire, wind, or earth—no manifest primal substance; the sky was empty, and only an undifferentiated radiance prevailed.
Skanda
Listener: Audience/sage
Scene: A timeless void: no moon, no alternation of day and night; the classical elements absent; an empty sky suffused with a single, formless radiance—like a pale, all-pervading glow without a source.
The verse emphasizes the collapse of time, elements, and differentiation—pointing toward the transcendence that Mahātmya teachings often culminate in.
None explicitly; it continues the pralaya setting before the Kāśī-centered revelation.
None.