Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

सप्तकल्पानशेषेण कथयस्व ममानघ । कल्पक्षयेऽपि लोकस्य स्थावरस्येतरस्य च

Transliteration

saptakalpānaśeṣeṇa kathayasva mamānagha | kalpakṣaye'pi lokasya sthāvarasyetarasya ca

Translation

「罪なき御方よ、七つのカルパについて余すところなく語ってください。カルパの終わりにおいても、世界と生きとし生けるもの、動かぬものと動くものとが、いかにその帰趨を迎えるのか。」

Word by Word

• sapta: seven
• sapta: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sapta (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्द; (यहाँ) ‘कल्पान्’ विशेषयति

• kalpān: aeons; kalpas
• kalpān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन

• aśeṣeṇa: completely
• aśeṣeṇa: Kriya (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: aśeṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: करणविभक्त्यन्तं क्रियाविशेषण (‘completely, without remainder’)

• kathayasva: please narrate
• kathayasva: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kath (कथ् धातु) (णिच्)
• Form: लोट् (आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; causative (णिच्): ‘tell/narrate’

• mama: to me
• mama: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: चतुर्थी (सम्प्रदान), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• anagha: O sinless one
• anagha: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anagha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• kalpakṣaye: at the end of a kalpa
• kalpakṣaye: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpa + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (अधिकरण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: कल्पस्य क्षयः

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-निपात (‘even/also’)

• lokasya: of the world
• lokasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• sthāvarasya: of the immobile (beings)
• sthāvarasya: Sambandha (Genitive qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sthāvara (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (जातिवाचक), षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; ‘immobile’ (as class)

• itarasya: and of the other (mobile beings)
• itarasya: Sambandha (Genitive qualifier/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: itara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (जातिवाचक), षष्ठी (सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; ‘other’ = mobile beings (इतर)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक निपात

Speaker

Yudhiṣṭhira (Dharmarāja)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-khaṇḍa (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Yudhiṣṭhira earnestly requests an exposition of seven kalpas and the fate of worlds at kalpa’s end; behind the sage, a symbolic backdrop shows cycles—creation, flourishing, dissolution—subtly depicted as concentric cosmic scenes.

Characters & Entities

• kalpa
• pralaya (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Awareness of cosmic cycles (kalpa and pralaya) deepens detachment and aligns human life with dharma rather than mere worldly permanence.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Within Revā Khaṇḍa, the tīrtha context frames cosmological teaching as part of the sacred journey along the Narmadā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the verse is a request for teaching on cosmic dissolution and continuity.