Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

पुरा ब्रह्मदिनस्यांते जगदेतच्चराचरम् । संहृत्य भगवान्रुद्रो ब्रह्मविष्णुपुरस्कृतः

Transliteration

purā brahmadinasyāṃte jagadetaccarācaram | saṃhṛtya bhagavānrudro brahmaviṣṇupuraskṛtaḥ

Translation

Autrefois, à la fin du jour de Brahmā, le Bienheureux Rudra—précédé et accompagné de Brahmā et de Viṣṇu—résorba ce monde entier, le mobile et l’immobile, dans la dissolution.

Word by Word

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Kāla (Time adjunct/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• ब्रह्मदिनस्य: of Brahmā's day
• ब्रह्मदिनस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् + दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (brahmaṇaḥ dinam)

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

• जगत्: the world
• जगत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Viśeṣaṇa (Determiner/विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (प्रातिपदिक/सर्वनाम)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; निर्देशवाचक सर्वनाम

• चराचरम्: moving and unmoving
• चराचरम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चर + अचर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; समासः—द्वन्द्वः (cara + acara)

• संहृत्य: having withdrawn/destroyed
• संहृत्य: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + √हृ (धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; अर्थः—संहृत्य (having withdrawn/destroyed)

• भगवान्: the blessed/lordly
• भगवान्: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; विशेषण (honorific)

• रुद्रः: Rudra
• रुद्रः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• ब्रह्मविष्णुपुरस्कृतः: preceded/honored by Brahmā and Viṣṇu
• ब्रह्मविष्णुपुरस्कृतः: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्मन् + विष्णु + पुरस् + √कृ (धातु) (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP) from पुरस्कृ (to place in front/honor), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (brahmaviṣṇū puraskṛtya / brahmaviṣṇubhyāṃ puraskṛtaḥ)

Speaker

Sārasvata

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Vastrāpatha-kṣetra (within Prabhāsa)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahārāja (unnamed king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: At the end of Brahmā’s day, Rudra stands as the cosmic dissolver; Brahmā and Viṣṇu attend as the moving and unmoving universe is withdrawn into a single vast stillness.

Characters & Entities

• Rudra
• Brahmā
• Viṣṇu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cosmic cycles are governed by dharmic order: dissolution is not chaos but the ordained function of Rudra within the Trimūrti.

Which specific holy site (Tīrtha) is glorified here?

The verse is part of the Vastrāpatha-kṣetra māhātmya narrative frame; it offers cosmological grounding rather than naming a tīrtha directly.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the passage establishes theological context for the māhātmya.