Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 91
कल्पेकल्पेखिलंविश्वं कालयेद्यः स्वलीलया । तं कालं कलयित्वा यो महाकालो भवत्किल
kalpekalpekhilaṃviśvaṃ kālayedyaḥ svalīlayā | taṃ kālaṃ kalayitvā yo mahākālo bhavatkila
ഓരോ കല്പത്തിലും തന്റെ ദിവ്യലീലകൊണ്ട് സർവ്വവിശ്വത്തെയും ലയിപ്പിക്കുകയും, കാലത്തെയും കീഴടക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്നവൻ—അവൻ തന്നെയാണ് നിശ്ചയമായി ‘മഹാകാലൻ’ എന്നു പ്രസിദ്ധൻ.
Skanda (deduced: Kāśī-khaṇḍa discourse, often Skanda to Agastya)
Tirtha: Mahākāla (deity) / Mahākālapurī (kṣetra)
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis
Scene: A cosmic vision: Mahākāla as Śiva towering beyond the cycles of kalpas, with galaxies dissolving into His presence; Time personified is subdued, while the city-temple below glows as His earthly seat.
FAQs
Śiva as Mahākāla transcends and governs Time; remembering Him anchors one in the eternal.
Mahākāla’s sphere is implied; the surrounding passage links this greatness to Mahākāla-purī.
None directly; the verse is doctrinal, defining Mahākāla’s supremacy over Time.