Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

युगान्ते समनुप्राप्ते पितामहदिनत्रये । मानसा ब्रह्मणः पुत्राः साक्षाद्ब्रह्मेव सत्तमाः

Transliteration

yugānte samanuprāpte pitāmahadinatraye | mānasā brahmaṇaḥ putrāḥ sākṣādbrahmeva sattamāḥ

Translation

യുഗാന്തം സമീപിച്ചപ്പോൾ, പിതാമഹൻ ബ്രഹ്മാവിന്റെ ത്രിദിനകാലചക്രത്തിൽ, ബ്രഹ്മാവിന്റെ മാനസപുത്രന്മാർ—ശ്രേഷ്ഠ സത്ത്വങ്ങൾ—സാക്ഷാൽ ബ്രഹ്മാവുപോലെ പ്രത്യക്ഷപ്പെട്ടു.

Word by Word

• युगान्ते: at the end of the yuga
• युगान्ते: अधिकरण (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग + अन्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘युगस्य अन्तः’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष

• समनुप्राप्ते: when (it) had fully arrived
• समनुप्राप्ते: अधिकरण (Locative absolute)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + अनु + प्राप्त (कृदन्त; √प्राप् (धातु), क्त)
• Form: सप्तमी, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त; लोकेटिव्-अब्सोल्यूट (सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध) ‘when it had arrived’

• पितामहदिनत्रये: in the three days of the Grandfather (Brahmā)
• पितामहदिनत्रये: अधिकरण (Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह + दिन + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; ‘पितामहस्य दिनत्रयम्’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (compound meaning: ‘in the three days of Brahmā’)

• मानसाः: mind-born
• मानसाः: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मानस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (of ‘putrāḥ’)

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahmā
• ब्रह्मणः: सम्बन्ध (Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• पुत्राः: sons
• पुत्राः: कर्ता (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• साक्षात्: directly
• साक्षात्: सम्बन्ध (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: साक्षात् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb), ‘directly/in person’

• ब्रह्म: Brahmā
• ब्रह्म: उपमान (Standard of comparison)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपमान (in simile with ‘iva’)

• इव: like
• इव: उपमा-सूचक (Simile marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमावाचक-अव्यय (simile particle)

• सत्तमाः: the best of beings
• सत्तमाः: विशेषण (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सत् + तम (प्रातिपदिक; तमत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; अतिशयवाचक (superlative) विशेषण (of ‘putrāḥ’)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sabhā audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic dawn-at-dusk scene: Brahmā’s vast time-cycle symbolized; luminous mind-born sons appear, radiant and austere, resembling Brahmā in authority.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā (Pitāmaha)
• Mānasa-putras (mind-born sons)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

At turning points of cosmic time, Brahmā’s primordial sages embody divine order, ensuring the continuity of creation and dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha; the verse supplies cosmological setting that supports the later tīrtha-organization associated with Narmadā.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this verse; it is descriptive cosmology.