Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

इति संहारमतुलं दृष्टवान्राजसत्तम । नष्टचन्द्रार्ककिरणमभूदेतच्चराचरम्

Transliteration

iti saṃhāramatulaṃ dṛṣṭavānrājasattama | naṣṭacandrārkakiraṇamabhūdetaccarācaram

Translation

Ainsi, ô meilleur des rois, je fus témoin d’une destruction sans égale ; les rayons de la lune et du soleil s’évanouirent, et tout ce qui bouge et ne bouge pas sombra dans l’obscurité.

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Discourse marker (वाक्यसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इत्यादि-प्रकारेण/उद्धरणसूचक (quotative/particle: thus)

• संहारम्: destruction/dissolution
• संहारम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संहार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• अतुलम्: incomparable
• अतुलम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अतुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (singular)

• दृष्टवान्: (he) saw
• दृष्टवान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृष्टवत् (कृदन्त; √दृश्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular); भूतकाले कर्तरि कृदन्त (past active participle) — finite sense: 'saw'

• राज-सत्तम: O best of kings
• राज-सत्तम: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक) + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (singular)

• नष्ट-चन्द्र-अर्क-किरणम्: whose moon-and-sun rays had vanished
• नष्ट-चन्द्र-अर्क-किरणम्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नष्ट (कृदन्त; √नश्) + चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्क (प्रातिपदिक) + किरण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• अभूत्: became/was
• अभूत्: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (singular); परस्मैपदम्

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

• चर-अचरम्: the moving and the unmoving (all beings)
• चर-अचरम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चर (प्रातिपदिक) + अचर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (singular)

Speaker

Narrator (addressing a king: rājasattama)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-khaṇḍa (cataclysm episode)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Best of kings (rājasattama)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A scene of incomparable destruction: sun and moonlight extinguished; the moving and unmoving world sinks into darkness.

Characters & Entities

• Candra
• Arka (Sūrya)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

All cosmic lights and supports are impermanent; lasting refuge is sought in dharma and the divine reality beyond creation and dissolution.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā Khaṇḍa context remains the Narmadā sacred region, though this verse highlights a universal pralaya-vision rather than a specific locale.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is stated in this verse.