Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

पुरा कृतयुगस्यादौ ब्रह्मा लोकपितामहः । उत्पादयित्वा सकलं भूतग्रामं चतुर्विधम्

Transliteration

purā kṛtayugasyādau brahmā lokapitāmahaḥ | utpādayitvā sakalaṃ bhūtagrāmaṃ caturvidham

Translation

«Autrefois, au commencement du Kṛta Yuga, Brahmā —l’aïeul des mondes—, ayant fait naître l’entière multitude des êtres selon l’ordre quadruple…»

Word by Word

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: purā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb: formerly)

• कृत-युगस्य: of the Kṛta age
• कृत-युगस्य: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + yuga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• आदौ: at the beginning
• आदौ: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• ब्रह्मा: Brahmā
• ब्रह्मा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• लोक-पितामहः: grandfather of the worlds
• लोक-पितामहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक) + pitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); ब्रह्मणः विशेषण-रूपेण (appositional epithet)

• उत्पादयित्वा: having created
• उत्पादयित्वा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial to implied main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उत् + पद्/पाद् (धातु) (causative: उत्पादयति)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive) — causative sense (having produced/created)

• सकलम्: entire
• सकलम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sakala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (qualifying भूतग्रामम्)

• भूत-ग्रामम्: the multitude of beings
• भूत-ग्रामम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta (प्रातिपदिक) + grāma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• चतुर्विधम्: fourfold
• चतुर्विधम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + vidha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण (qualifying भूतग्रामम्)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya (narrating)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kapilā Tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājā (Bhārata)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā in a luminous, early-creation tableau: seated on lotus, emanating beings in ordered groups; the atmosphere suggests the dawn of Kṛta-yuga, with subtle hints of a sacrificial ground that will later connect to Kapilā’s emergence.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Kṛta Yuga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Tīrtha greatness is often grounded in primordial time—linking sacred geography to cosmic beginnings and the ordering of creation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sets the temporal backdrop for the Kapilā-tīrtha account, locating it in the Kṛta Yuga narrative frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it introduces the mythic-historical context (kāla and sambandha) for the tīrtha’s emergence.