Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 21
Devanagari script
अष्टाविंशत्प्रमाणा मे कल्पा जातस्य भूतले । न दृष्टो न श्रुतो वासाविंद्रद्युम्नो नृपः क्षितौ
Transliteration
aṣṭāviṃśatpramāṇā me kalpā jātasya bhūtale | na dṛṣṭo na śruto vāsāviṃdradyumno nṛpaḥ kṣitau
Translation
ഞാൻ ഭൂതലത്തിൽ ഇരുപത്തിയെട്ട് കല്പങ്ങളുടെ പരിമിതിയോളം കാലം ജീവിച്ചു; എങ്കിലും ഈ ഭൂമിയിൽ ‘ഇന്ദ്രദ്യുമ്നൻ’ എന്ന രാജാവിനെ ഞാൻ കണ്ടതുമില്ല, കേട്ടതുമില്ല।
Word by Word
aṣṭāviṃśat-pramāṇāḥhaving the measure of twenty-eight
aṣṭāviṃśat-pramāṇāḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootaṣṭāviṃśati (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + pramāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; संख्या-तत्पुरुषः—“अष्टाविंशत् प्रमाणाः” (having the measure of 28)
meof me / my
me:
Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
TypeNoun
Rootasmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formषष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम
kalpāḥaeons (kalpas)
kalpāḥ:
Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootkalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन
jātasyaof (one) born
jātasya:
Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
TypeAdjective
Rootjan (धातु) → jāta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
Formपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past passive participle)
bhūtaleon the earth’s surface
bhūtale:
Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootbhū-tala (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—भूः + तलम्
nanot
na:
Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootna (अव्यय)
Formनिषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)
dṛṣṭaḥseen
dṛṣṭaḥ:
Pradhāna-predicative (Predicate/विधेय)
TypeAdjective
Rootdṛś (धातु) → dṛṣṭa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त
nanot
na:
Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootna (अव्यय)
Formनिषेध-अव्यय
śrutaḥheard of
śrutaḥ:
Pradhāna-predicative (Predicate/विधेय)
TypeAdjective
Rootśru (धातु) → śruta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, क्त)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त
vāsāviṃdradyumnaḥVāsavi-Indradyumna (a king’s name)
vāsāviṃdradyumnaḥ:
Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootvāsavi (प्रातिपदिक) + indradyumna (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः—“वāsavi (इन्द्रसम्बन्धी) इव/सदृशः इन्द्रद्युम्नः” (name)
nṛpaḥking
nṛpaḥ:
Apposition (Samānādhikaraṇa/समानाधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootnṛpa (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन
kṣitauon earth
kṣitau:
Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
TypeNoun
Rootkṣiti (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन
Speaker
Kauśika
Visual Art Cues
Scene: A king confronts an ancient being who speaks of twenty-eight kalpas; the king’s courtly grandeur is dwarfed by the speaker’s cosmic memory.
Characters & Entities
I
IndradyumnaFAQs
Fame and worldly records vanish across cosmic time; only dharma and devotion endure beyond eras.
No tīrtha is mentioned; the verse emphasizes vast cosmic chronology.
None.