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Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 39

श्र्युवाच । विस्मृताहं कथं विप्र दृष्ट्वा कल्पे पुरातने । मा तेऽभूत्स्मृतिविभ्रंशः सा चाहं कल्पवाहिनी

śryuvāca | vismṛtāhaṃ kathaṃ vipra dṛṣṭvā kalpe purātane | mā te'bhūtsmṛtivibhraṃśaḥ sā cāhaṃ kalpavāhinī

La Dame bienheureuse dit : «Comment pourrais-je être oubliée, ô brāhmaṇa, puisque tu m’as vue dans un kalpa ancien ? Qu’il n’y ait point de trouble dans ta mémoire : je suis celle qui demeure de kalpa en kalpa.»

śrīŚrī (the revered lady)
śrī:
Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootśrī (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; वक्तृ-निर्देशार्थ (honorific subject marker)
uvācasaid
uvāca:
Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootvac (वच् धातु)
Formलिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन
vismṛtāforgetful; having forgotten
vismṛtā:
Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Subject complement)
TypeAdjective
Rootvi + smṛ (स्मृ धातु)
Formक्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘विस्मृता’ = forgotten/forgetful (agreeing with अहम्)
ahamI
aham:
Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootasmad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
Formसर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन
kathamhow
katham:
Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootkatham (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय (प्रश्नार्थक क्रियाविशेषण interrogative adverb)
vipraO brāhmaṇa
vipra:
Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
TypeNoun
Rootvipra (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन
dṛṣṭvāhaving seen
dṛṣṭvā:
Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
TypeVerb
Rootdṛś (दृश् धातु)
Formक्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (Gerund), ‘having seen’
kalpein a kalpa (aeon)
kalpe:
Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootkalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन
purātaneancient; former
purātane:
Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootpurātana (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘kalpe’)
do not; let not
:
Pratishedha (Prohibition/निषेध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootmā (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय (निषेध/आशीर्वादार्थ particle; here prohibitive/‘let not’)
teto you
te:
Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
TypeNoun
Roottvad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
Formसर्वनाम, षष्ठी/चतुर्थी—चतुर्थी (Dative), एकवचन; enclitic ‘te’
abhūtarose; happened
abhūt:
Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootbhū (भू धातु)
Formलुङ् (Aorist/अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन
smṛti-vibhraṃśaḥmemory-confusion; lapse of memory
smṛti-vibhraṃśaḥ:
Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootsmṛti (प्रातिपदिक) + vibhraṃśa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—‘स्मृतेः विभ्रंशः’ (lapse of memory)
she; that (one)
:
Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Roottad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
Formसर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन
caand
ca:
Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootca (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय (समुच्चय conjunction)
ahamI
aham:
Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootasmad (प्रातिपदिक सर्वनाम)
Formसर्वनाम, प्रथमा, एकवचन
kalpavāhinīthe kalpa-bearing one (name/epithet)
kalpavāhinī:
Kartṛ-samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition)
TypeNoun
Rootkalpa (प्रातिपदिक) + vāhinī (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘कल्पं वहति’/‘कल्पस्य वाहिनी’ (she who carries/flows through kalpas)

Śrī (the blessed goddess-like maiden; a divine female speaker within the narrative)

Tirtha: Revā/Narmadā

Type: kshetra

Listener: vipra/brāhmaṇa

Scene: The river-goddess speaks with calm authority, her form blending with flowing waters; the sage listens, astonished, as time (kalpa) is invoked like a living horizon.

V
vipra (brāhmaṇa interlocutor)
K
kalpa
K
kalpavāhinī (the aeon-enduring one)

FAQs

Purāṇic sacred history transcends ordinary time; divine presences and tīrtha-glories recur across kalpas, stabilizing faith beyond fleeting perception.

Revā-kṣetra is implied as a timeless sacred theatre where kalpa-spanning divine encounters occur.

No direct ritual is prescribed; the verse clarifies identity and removes doubt, preparing for māhātmya instruction.