Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

प्लवमानमिदं राजन्मानसं शतयोजनम् । षट्पंचाशत्प्रमाणेन कल्पा मम पुरा नृप

Transliteration

plavamānamidaṃ rājanmānasaṃ śatayojanam | ṣaṭpaṃcāśatpramāṇena kalpā mama purā nṛpa

Translation

Ô roi, ce Mānasa dérive et se meut, mesurant cent yojanas. Jadis, ô souverain, mes kalpas étaient comptés selon la mesure de cinquante-six.

Word by Word

• प्लवमानम्: floating
• प्लवमानम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्लु (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कृदन्त (शानच्-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन = Present participle (middle), neuter nom/acc singular

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदं (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन = Neuter nom/acc singular

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन = Vocative singular

• मानसम्: Mānasa (name/mental)
• मानसम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मानस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन = Neuter nom/acc singular (as name/descriptor)

• शतयोजनम्: a hundred yojanas (in extent)
• शतयोजनम्: Visheshana (Measure/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शत + योजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास: शतं योजनानि यस्य/परिमाणम्; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन = Neuter nom/acc singular

• षट्पंचाशत्प्रमाणेन: by the measure of fifty-six
• षट्पंचाशत्प्रमाणेन: Karana (Measure/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षट्पञ्चाशत् + प्रमाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास: षट्पञ्चाशतः प्रमाणम् ‘measure of fifty-six’; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन = Instrumental singular

• कल्पाः: kalpas (aeons)
• कल्पाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन = Nominative plural

• मम: my
• मम: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी, एकवचन = Genitive singular

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक) = indeclinable ‘formerly’

• नृप: O ruler
• नृप: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन = Vocative singular

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) narrating (contextual attribution within Māheśvara-khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Mānasa

Type: kund

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Indradyumna (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast, luminous Mānasa expanse shown as a drifting island-lake in cosmic waters, with measurement motifs (hundred yojanas) and a sage/being explaining kalpa measures to a king.

Characters & Entities

• Mānasa
• Kalpa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic teaching links sacred landscapes with vast cosmic time, placing human events within an aeonic framework.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Mānasa is referenced (as a named sacred lake/region), though the verse primarily emphasizes scale and cosmic chronology.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse is descriptive (magnitude and time-reckoning).