Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

बकं मात्स्यं च पाद्मं च वटकल्पं च भारत । एकविंशतिमं चैतं वाराहं सांप्रतीनकम्

Transliteration

bakaṃ mātsyaṃ ca pādmaṃ ca vaṭakalpaṃ ca bhārata | ekaviṃśatimaṃ caitaṃ vārāhaṃ sāṃpratīnakam

Translation

Ô Bhārata, voici le Baka, le Mātsya, le Pādma et le Vaṭa-kalpa ; et le temps présent est le vingt et unième, nommé le Vārāha (Kalpa).

Word by Word

• बकम्: Baka (kalpa)
• बकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण/नाम (baka-related)

• मात्स्यम्: Mātsya (kalpa)
• मात्स्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मात्स्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (fish-related)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• पाद्मम्: Pādma (kalpa)
• पाद्मम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाद्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (lotus-related)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• वटकल्पम्: Vaṭa-kalpa
• वटकल्पम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वट (प्रातिपदिक) + कल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वटस्य कल्पः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• भारत: O Bhārata
• भारत: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संबोधन (vocative)

• एकविंशतिमम्: the twenty-first
• एकविंशतिमम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकविंशति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; क्रमवाचक (21st)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• एतम्: this
• एतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण (this)

• वाराहम्: Vārāha (kalpa)
• वाराहम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वाराह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (boar-related)

• सांप्रतीनकम्: present-day (kalpa)
• सांप्रतीनकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सांप्रतीनक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (present/pertaining to the current time)

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya (deduced from immediate narrative context continuing into Adhyāya 14)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā/Narmadā (contextual)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Bhārata (addressed), i.e., the king in dialogue

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teaching scene: the sage addresses ‘Bhārata’ while a boar (Varāha) emblem appears as the sign of the present kalpa; behind, the river flows past a banyan (vaṭa) and lotus motifs (pādma), hinting at the named kalpas.

Characters & Entities

• Bhārata (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Vārāha Kalpa
• Mātsya Kalpa
• Pādma Kalpa
• Vaṭa-kalpa
• Baka (Kalpa-name)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It places sacred geography (Revā/Narmadā) within a vast cosmic frame, reminding devotees that tīrthas and dharma endure across kalpas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Revā (Narmadā) sacred landscape is the setting; this verse supports its mahatmya by linking it to kalpa-history.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed here; it is a cosmological enumeration (kalpa-identification).