Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

युगांतसमये क्षुब्धैश्चतुर्भिरपि सागरैः । अपि निर्मग्नलोकांतैरस्पृष्टांतिकभूतलम्

Transliteration

yugāṃtasamaye kṣubdhaiścaturbhirapi sāgaraiḥ | api nirmagnalokāṃtairaspṛṣṭāṃtikabhūtalam

Translation

Même à la fin d’un âge, lorsque les quatre océans sont violemment bouleversés et que les mondes sombrent dans la dissolution, la terre proche de lui demeure intacte, sans être atteinte.

Word by Word

• yugānta: end of the age
• yugānta: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuga (युग) + anta (अन्त)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (masc.), समासपूर्वपद; समास: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (end of an age)

• samaye: at the time
• samaye: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: samaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (masc.), सप्तमी एकवचन (Loc. sg.)

• yugāntasamaye: at the time of the age’s end
• yugāntasamaye: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yugānta (युगान्त) + samaya (समय)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (masc.), सप्तमी एकवचन (Loc. sg.); समास: सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष (at the time of the age-end)

• kṣubdhaiḥ: by agitated
• kṣubdhaiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kṣubh (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुल्लिङ्ग (masc.), तृतीया बहुवचन (Instr. pl.); अर्थ: ‘agitated’

• caturbhiḥ: by four
• caturbhiḥ: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (masc.), तृतीया बहुवचन (Instr. pl.); संख्यावाचक (numeral) qualifying sāgaraiḥ

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अपि-अर्थ (even/also)

• sāgaraiḥ: by oceans
• sāgaraiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sāgara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (masc.), तृतीया बहुवचन (Instr. pl.)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अपि-अर्थ (even/also)

• nirmagna: submerged
• nirmagna: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nir + majj (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle), समासपूर्वपद; अर्थ: ‘submerged/sunk’

• loka: world
• loka: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासपूर्वपद (compound member)

• antaiḥ: by the extremities
• antaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (masc.), तृतीया बहुवचन (Instr. pl.); ‘by ends/limits’

• nirmagnalokāntaiḥ: by the submerged ends of the worlds
• nirmagnalokāntaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nirmagna (निर्मग्न) + loka (लोक) + anta (अन्त)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग (masc.), तृतीया बहुवचन (Instr. pl.); समास: तत्पुरुष (with submerged world-ends)

• aspṛṣṭa: untouched
• aspṛṣṭa: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Verb
• Root: a- (नञ्) + spṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle) with negation, समासपूर्वपद; अर्थ: ‘untouched’

• āntika: nearby
• āntika: Sambandha (Compound member/समासाङ्ग)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: āntika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासपूर्वपद; अर्थ: ‘near/adjacent’

• bhūtalam: ground, earth-surface
• bhūtalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūtala (प्रातिपदik) [bhū + tala]
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut.), प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (Nom./Acc. sg.); समास: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (surface of the earth)

• aspṛṣṭāntikabhūtalam: the ground whose vicinity remains untouched
• aspṛṣṭāntikabhūtalam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aspṛṣṭa (अस्पृष्ट) + āntika (आन्तिक) + bhūtala (भूतल)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (neut.), प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (Nom./Acc. sg.); समास: तत्पुरुष (ground whose vicinity is untouched / untouched-nearby-ground)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) addressing the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Aruṇācala kṣetra (akṣaya-pradeśa)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic pralaya scene: four oceans heave and churn, distant worlds sink; yet a luminous, stable landmass around Aruṇācala remains dry and untouched, the hill standing like a pillar of certainty amid chaos.

Characters & Entities

• Aruṇācala

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The holy kṣetra of Aruṇācala is portrayed as transcending cosmic catastrophe, implying its supreme sanctity and spiritual refuge.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Aruṇācala (Tiruvaṇṇāmalai), the Śaiva sacred mountain-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is stated here; the verse functions as a mahātmya statement establishing the site’s incomparable holiness.