Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 19
गृध्रो वै कुंजरस्यासीन्मेषस्याभूच्च राक्षसः । कालनेमेर्महाकालो निमेरासीन्महातिमिः
gṛdhro vai kuṃjarasyāsīnmeṣasyābhūcca rākṣasaḥ | kālanemermahākālo nimerāsīnmahātimiḥ
କୁଞ୍ଜରଙ୍କ ଧ୍ୱଜରେ ଗୃଧ୍ର ଥିଲା; ମେଷଙ୍କ ଧ୍ୱଜରେ ରାକ୍ଷସ। କାଳନେମିଙ୍କ ଧ୍ୱଜରେ ମହାକାଳ, ନିମିଙ୍କ ଧ୍ୱଜରେ ମହାତିମି—ଘୋର ଅନ୍ଧକାର—ଚିହ୍ନ ଥିଲା।
Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), narrating to the sages
Scene: Four standards rise: Kuñjara’s bears a vulture; Meṣa’s a fierce rākṣasa figure; Kālanemi’s shows Mahākāla—dark, time-death personified; Nimi’s is an expanse of thick darkness like a black pennant swallowing light.
FAQs
Adharma aligns itself with death, darkness, and predation—yet these are ultimately subordinate to the divine order that governs time (kāla).
None; “Mahākāla” here functions as a fearsome emblem/name, not a direct praise of Ujjain’s Mahākāleśvara tīrtha in this verse.
None.