Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 177

Devanagari script

चापान्यन्यानि संगृह्य यावन्मुंचंति सायकान् । तावद्बाणं समाधाय कालानलसमप्रभम्

Transliteration

cāpānyanyāni saṃgṛhya yāvanmuṃcaṃti sāyakān | tāvadbāṇaṃ samādhāya kālānalasamaprabham

Translation

As they seized other bows and kept releasing their arrows, he, meanwhile, set upon his bow a shaft blazing like the fire of Kāla at the world’s dissolution.

Word by Word

• चापानि: bows
• चापानि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन

• अन्यानि: other
• अन्यानि: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), बहुवचन; विशेषण (चापानि)

• संगृह्य: having gathered/taken up
• संगृह्य: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम् + ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund); पूर्वक्रिया

• यावत्: as long as / until
• यावत्: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; यावत्-तावत् सम्बन्धसूचक (correlative)

• मुंचन्ति: they release
• मुंचन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• सायकान्: arrows
• सायकान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सायक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), बहुवचन

• तावत्: so long / then
• तावत्: Sambandha (Correlative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; यावत्-तावत् सम्बन्धसूचक (correlative)

• बाणम्: an arrow
• बाणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• समाधाय: having fixed/placed (on the bow)
• समाधाय: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम् + आ + धा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund); पूर्वक्रिया

• कालानलसमप्रभम्: having a radiance like the fire of Time (cosmic conflagration)
• कालानलसमप्रभम्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काल + अनल + सम + प्रभ (प्रातिपदिक); (कालानल-सम-प्रभ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; विशेषण (बाणम्); समासः—तत्पुरुष (उपमान-निर्देश: 'कालानलस्य समा प्रभा यस्य')

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced: Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narration to sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A warrior draws a singular arrow, glowing like the fire at the end of time, while opponents hurriedly seize other bows and keep shooting; the focal point is the lone kālāgni-like shaft poised on the string.

Characters & Entities

• Deva
• Kālānala (cosmic fire metaphor)
• Daitya (Tāraka implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma escalates in intensity; the Purāṇa uses apocalyptic imagery to show why only a divinely ordained solution can restore balance.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is specified.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.