Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

अथ कल्पशतस्यांते व्यतीते तं महीपतिम् । प्राह प्रजापतिः सेवावसरायातमात्मनः

Transliteration

atha kalpaśatasyāṃte vyatīte taṃ mahīpatim | prāha prajāpatiḥ sevāvasarāyātamātmanaḥ

Translation

Puis, lorsque cent kalpa se furent écoulés, Prajāpati s’adressa à ce roi, venu à lui au moment fixé pour le service.

Word by Word

• अथ: then/now
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/आरम्भसूचक (sequence/now/then)

• कल्प-शतस्य: of a hundred kalpas
• कल्प-शतस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्प (प्रातिपदिक) + शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘कल्पानां शतम्’)

• अन्ते: at the end
• अन्ते: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; अधिकरण (locative)

• व्यतीते: when (it) had passed
• व्यतीते: Adhikarana (Locative absolute/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + अति + इ (धातु) → व्यतीत (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘(काले) व्यतीते’—locative absolute sense

• तम्: that (him)
• तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• महीपतिम्: the king (lord of the earth)
• महीपतिम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही (प्रातिपदिक) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘मही-या: पति:’)

• प्राह: said/spoke
• प्राह: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + अह् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• प्रजापतिः: Prajāpati
• प्रजापतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रजा (प्रातिपदिक) + पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष)

• सेवा-अवसर-आयातम्: having come for the occasion of service
• सेवा-अवसर-आयातम्: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सेवा (प्रातिपदिक) + अवसर (प्रातिपदिक) + आ + या (धातु) → आयात (कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सेवायाः अवसरः); ‘आयात’ भूतकृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, एकवचन; ‘तम् महीपतिम्’ इति विशेषण

• आत्मनः: of himself/for himself
• आत्मनः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa-context within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Indradyumna

Visual Art Cues

Scene: In a luminous Brahmā/Prajāpati court beyond time, the king arrives at the exact ‘service hour’; Prajāpati addresses him as the kalpa-century completes, suggesting a cosmic clock turning.

Characters & Entities

• Indradyumna
• Prajāpati

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Time (kāla) governs even heavenly states; duty and service continue according to divine order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No earthly tīrtha is specified; the setting is Prajāpati’s realm and the theme is cosmic time.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; ‘sevā’ is presented as a dharmic obligation/role rather than a rite.