Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

सप्तकल्पक्षया घोरा मया दृष्टाः पुनःपुनः । प्रसादाद्देवदेवस्य विष्णोश्च परमेष्ठिनः

Transliteration

saptakalpakṣayā ghorā mayā dṛṣṭāḥ punaḥpunaḥ | prasādāddevadevasya viṣṇośca parameṣṭhinaḥ

Translation

神々の神たるヴィシュヌ、至高の主の恩寵により、我は七カルパの終末に起こる恐るべき滅尽を幾度も目撃した。

Word by Word

• sapta-kalpa-kṣayāḥ: the destructions of seven kalpas
• sapta-kalpa-kṣayāḥ: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sapta (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + kalpa (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन; समासः (kalpānām kṣayāḥ) पूर्वपद-विशेषण ‘sapta’

• ghorāḥ: terrible
• ghorāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghora (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (kṣayāḥ)

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karta (Agent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: उत्तमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, तृतीया (Instrumental), एकवचन

• dṛṣṭāḥ: seen
• dṛṣṭāḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/Verbal notion)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्मणि-भावः ‘seen’

• punaḥ-punaḥ: again and again
• punaḥ-punaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय) + punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), पुनरुक्ति-प्रयोग

• prasādāt: from the grace
• prasādāt: Hetu (Cause/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prasāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (Ablative), एकवचन

• deva-devasya: of the god of gods
• deva-devasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (devānām devaḥ)

• viṣṇoḥ: of Viṣṇu
• viṣṇoḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (निपात)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction)

• parameṣṭhinaḥ: of the Supreme Lord (Parameṣṭhin)
• parameṣṭhinaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: parameṣṭhin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन

Speaker

A narrator-sage (speaker within Revā Khaṇḍa dialogue; not explicit in the snippet)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nareśvara (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visionary seer recounts witnessing repeated, terrifying dissolutions at the end of seven kalpas, granted by Viṣṇu’s grace; cosmic darkness, collapsing worlds, and a steady divine presence implied.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Parameṣṭhin

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even terrifying cosmic cycles are comprehensible only through divine grace; the Lord remains the ultimate refuge beyond time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within the Revā Khaṇḍa framework that ultimately glorifies the sanctity of the Revā (Narmadā) region, though this specific line focuses on cosmic events.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed in this verse.