Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

कालः करालको बालः को मृत्युः को यमाधमः । शिवविष्णुपराणां हि नराणां किं भयं भवेत्

Transliteration

kālaḥ karālako bālaḥ ko mṛtyuḥ ko yamādhamaḥ | śivaviṣṇuparāṇāṃ hi narāṇāṃ kiṃ bhayaṃ bhavet

Translation

ശിവ-വിഷ്ണുപരായണരായ മനുഷ്യർക്കു ഭീകരമായ കാലവും ബാലനെപ്പോലെ ആകുന്നു; പിന്നെ മരണം എന്ത്, അധമനായ യമൻ എന്ത്? അവർക്കെങ്ങനെ ഭയം ഉണ്ടാകും?

Word by Word

• कालः: Time
• कालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• करालकः: terrible
• करालकः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: करालक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (कालः)

• बालः: weak/childish
• बालः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (कालः)

• कः: what?/who?
• कः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम

• मृत्युः: death
• मृत्युः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कः: what?/who?
• कः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• यमाधमः: the vile Yama
• यमाधमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम (प्रातिपदिक) + अधम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (अधमः यमः)

• शिवविष्णुपराणाम्: of men devoted to Śiva and Viṣṇu
• शिवविष्णुपराणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिव (प्रातिपदिक) + विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक) + पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (शिव-विष्ण्वोः पराः) विशेषण (नराणाम्)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Discourse particle (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थ (indeed/for)

• नराणाम्: of men
• नराणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• किम्: what?
• किम्: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• भयम्: fear
• भयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• भवेत्: could be / would arise
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

Speaker

Deductively: Skanda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-khaṇḍa (Hari-Hara bhakti zone)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Personified Kāla, once terrifying, appears as a harmless child; Mṛtyu and Yama shrink in stature before devotees radiant with Hari-Hara devotion, standing on a riverbank shrine platform.

Characters & Entities

• Kāla
• Mṛtyu
• Yama
• Śiva
• Viṣṇu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion to Śiva and Viṣṇu grants spiritual fearlessness, making even Time and Death powerless.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Revā Khaṇḍa context connects the teaching to pilgrimage spirituality on the Revā/Narmadā banks.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite; the prescription is parāyaṇatā—steadfast devotion to Śiva and Viṣṇu.