Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

ऐंद्रमेतद्भवेदायुः समासांतं च कीर्तितम् । चतुर्दशेन्द्रैः प्रलीनैः कल्पं ब्रह्मदिनं भवेत्

Transliteration

aiṃdrametadbhavedāyuḥ samāsāṃtaṃ ca kīrtitam | caturdaśendraiḥ pralīnaiḥ kalpaṃ brahmadinaṃ bhavet

Translation

ഇത് ഇന്ദ്രന്റെ ആയുസ്സ് ‘ഐന്ദ്രം’ എന്നു, വർഷങ്ങളുടെ സമാപ്തിവരെ വർണ്ണിക്കപ്പെട്ടിരിക്കുന്നു. പതിനാലു ഇന്ദ്രന്മാർ ലയിച്ചാൽ, ആ കാലം തന്നെ കല്പം—ബ്രഹ്മദിനം—ആകുന്നു.

Word by Word

• aindram: Indra-related
• aindram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: indra (प्रातिपदिक) → aindra (तद्धित-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; तद्धित (इन्द्रसम्बन्धि)

• etat: this
• etat: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• bhavet: would be
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• āyuḥ: lifespan
• āyuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āyus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• samāsāntam: ending with (a period of) samāsas
• samāsāntam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: samāsa (प्रातिपदिक) + anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (समासस्य अन्तः)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय-निपात (conjunction)

• kīrtitam: is proclaimed
• kīrtitam: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kīrt (धातु) + ta (कृत्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त), कर्मणि-प्रयोगे विधेय

• caturdaśa-indraiḥ: by fourteen Indras
• caturdaśa-indraiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caturdaśa (संख्या) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (संख्याविशिष्टः: चतुर्दश इन्द्राः)

• pralīnaiḥ: having dissolved / having passed away
• pralīnaiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-√lī (धातु) + na (कृत्/क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त/क्तवत्-भाव), विशेषण (इन्द्रैः)

• kalpam: a kalpa
• kalpam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• brahma-dinam: Brahmā's day
• brahma-dinam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + dina (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (ब्रह्मणः दिनम्)

• bhavet: would be / becomes
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Śiva (deduced from address to Devī/Parvatī in this adhyāya sequence)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Fourteen Indras appear as a procession of crowned figures fading into time, while above them a vast lotus-seated Brahmā marks a ‘day’; beneath, the eternal kṣetra with Somnātha stands unchanged by the succession.

Characters & Entities

• Indra
• Kalpa
• Brahmā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even the highest offices (like Indra) are temporary; dharma and devotion are the enduring refuge.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra is the narrative setting; its Māhātmya situates cosmic teaching within a sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse explains cosmological durations and titles.