Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

प्रवृत्ते भूतसंहारे प्रकृतौ प्रतिसंचरे । भविष्यत्सर्वबीजानि निषेदुर्यत्र निश्चयम्

Transliteration

pravṛtte bhūtasaṃhāre prakṛtau pratisaṃcare | bhaviṣyatsarvabījāni niṣeduryatra niścayam

Translation

Quand commence la dissolution des êtres et que tout se résorbe dans la Prakṛti, les semences de toute création future demeurent assurément en ce lieu.

Word by Word

• pravṛtte: when (it) had begun
• pravṛtte: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra√vṛt (धातु) → pravṛtta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी-एकवचनम् (Locative singular), नपुंसकलिङ्गे/पुंलिङ्गे (contextual); भूतकृदन्तः (क्त) ‘प्रवृत्त’ = ‘having commenced’

• bhūta-saṃhāre: in the dissolution of beings
• bhūta-saṃhāre: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūta (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃhāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमासः (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः) ‘भूतानां संहारः’; सप्तमी-एकवचनम् (Locative singular), पुंलिङ्गः

• prakṛtau: in Prakṛti (primordial nature)
• prakṛtau: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prakṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गः, सप्तमी-एकवचनम् (Locative singular)

• pratisaṃcare: in the re-absorption (process)
• pratisaṃcare: Adhikaraṇa (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prati-saṃ√car (धातु) → pratisaṃcara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, सप्तमी-एकवचनम् (Locative singular); ‘प्रतिसंचार’ = ‘re-absorption/returning back’

• bhaviṣyat-sarva-bījāni: all the future seeds (causal germs)
• bhaviṣyat-sarva-bījāni: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhaviṣyat (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक, भविष्यत्) + sarva (प्रातिपदिक) + bīja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमासः (कर्मधारय/विशेषणपूर्वक-तत्पुरुषः) ‘भविष्यत्’ (future) qualifying ‘सर्वबीज’; नपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा-बहुवचनम् (Nominative plural)

• niṣeduḥ: sat down / settled / rested
• niṣeduḥ: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ni√sad (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुषः, बहुवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• yatra: where
• yatra: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; सम्बन्धबोधक-अव्ययम् (relative adverb: ‘where’)

• niścayam: certainly
• niścayam: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niścaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया-एकवचनम् (Accusative singular); क्रियाविशेषणभावे (adverbial accusative: ‘certainly/for sure’)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) addressing the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Aruṇācala

Type: peak

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis/devotees (contextual audience of the mahātmya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A silent Arunachala rising like a dark-golden axis; the universe dissolves into subtle elements flowing back into Prakṛti, while luminous seed-sparks gather and rest within the mountain’s heart-cave.

Characters & Entities

• Aruṇācala
• Prakṛti

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The kṣetra is framed as a causal sanctuary: even in pralaya, the divine ground preserves the potential for future worlds.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Aruṇācala, presented as the locus where cosmic potentials remain safeguarded.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None is specified; the verse is cosmological praise supporting pilgrimage-faith (kṣetra-śraddhā).