Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

नारायण सहस्राणां ब्रह्मणामयुतस्य च कृता शिरःकरोटीभिरनादिनिधना ततः

Transliteration

nārāyaṇa sahasrāṇāṃ brahmaṇāmayutasya ca kṛtā śiraḥkaroṭībhiranādinidhanā tataḥ

Translation

«Elle a été faite des coupes-crânes (karōṭī) de milliers de Nārāyaṇa et de dizaines de milliers de Brahmā ; ainsi est-elle sans commencement ni fin.»

Word by Word

• नारायण: O Nārāyaṇa
• नारायण: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारायण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• सहस्राणाम्: of thousands
• सहस्राणाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• ब्रह्मणाम्: of Brahmās
• ब्रह्मणाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• अयुतस्य: of ten-thousand (ayuta)
• अयुतस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• कृता: made
• कृता: Kriya (Predicative/क्रिया-विशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; (माला इत्यध्याहृत-पदस्य विशेषणम्)

• शिरःकरोटीभिः: with heads and skull-caps
• शिरःकरोटीभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस् (प्रातिपदिक) + करोटी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (शिरांसि च करोटयः च)

• अनादिनिधना: beginningless and endless (lit. without beginning and end)
• अनादिनिधना: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनादि (प्रातिपदिक) + निधन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (अनादिः च निधना च)

• ततः: then / thereafter
• ततः: Kala (Temporal adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम्; क्रियाविशेषणम् (thereafter/then)

Speaker

Śiva (Śaṅkara)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva describes the garland as made from skull-bowls of thousands of Nārāyaṇas and ten-thousands of Brahmās—an image of vast kalpa-cycles collapsing into a single ornament.

Characters & Entities

• Nārāyaṇa
• Viṣṇu
• Brahmā
• Śiva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cosmic offices recur across cycles, but the Supreme reality indicated here is timeless—beyond origin and dissolution.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where Śiva reveals his transcendent status in the Kālāgniliṅga context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse teaches metaphysical doctrine through sacred narrative.