Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 61

Devanagari script

त्वं कालरात्रिर्निःशेष भुवनावलिनाशिनी । प्रियकंठग्रहानन्ददायिनी त्वं विभावरी

Transliteration

tvaṃ kālarātrirniḥśeṣa bhuvanāvalināśinī | priyakaṃṭhagrahānandadāyinī tvaṃ vibhāvarī

Translation

ਤੂੰ ਕਾਲਰਾਤ੍ਰੀ ਹੈਂ, ਜੋ ਨਿਃਸ਼ੇਸ਼ ਭੁਵਨਾਵਲੀ ਨੂੰ ਲਯ ਕਰ ਦੇਣ ਵਾਲੀ ਸ਼ਕਤੀ ਹੈਂ। ਤੂੰ ਪ੍ਰਿਯ ਦੇ ਕੰਠ-ਗ੍ਰਹਣ ਦੇ ਆਨੰਦ ਦੀ ਦਾਤੀ ਹੈਂ—ਹੇ ਵਿਭਾਵਰੀ, ਪ੍ਰਕਾਸ਼ਮਈ ਰਾਤ।

Word by Word

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Sambodhana/Prathamā (Addressed entity; subject-equivalent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, एकवचन, प्रथमा (1st)

• कालरात्रिः: Night of Time (Kālarātri)
• कालरात्रिः: Pradhāna-nāma (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक) + रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘कालस्य रात्रिः’

• निःशेष: O all-complete/entire (without remainder)
• निःशेष: Sambodhana (Addressing epithet)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निःशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषण, पुं/नपुंसक-प्रातिपदिक; अत्र सम्बोधन-प्रयोगः, एकवचन, प्रथमा (used as vocative-like address)

• भुवनावलिनाशिनी: destroyer of the series of worlds
• भुवनावलिनाशिनी: Pradhāna-nāma (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भुवन (प्रातिपदिक) + आवलि (प्रातिपदिक) + नाशिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—‘भुवनानाम् आवलेः नाशिनी’

• प्रियकण्ठग्रहानन्ददायिनी: giver of joy through beloved embrace
• प्रियकण्ठग्रहानन्ददायिनी: Pradhāna-nāma (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक) + कण्ठ (प्रातिपदिक) + ग्रह (प्रातिपदिक) + आनन्द (प्रातिपदिक) + दायिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः—‘प्रियस्य कण्ठग्रहस्य आनन्दं ददाति’

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Sambodhana/Prathamā (Addressed entity; subject-equivalent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, एकवचन, प्रथमा (1st)

• विभावरी: night
• विभावरी: Pradhāna-nāma (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विभावरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Devotees/praisers addressing Niśādevī, within Sūta’s narration to the sages (deduced).

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A nocturnal cosmic scene: the Devī as Kālārātri—dark, vast, world-dissolving—yet with a luminous face as Vibhāvarī; beside her, a tender vignette of embrace symbolizing ānanda within night; worlds dissolve into a dark ocean of time.

Characters & Entities

• Kālārātri
• Niśādevī
• Vibhāvarī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Goddess is both terrifying time that ends worlds and tender bliss that grants intimate joy—divinity contains both dissolution and delight.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific site is mentioned; it is a theological praise of the Goddess’s cosmic role.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse supports stuti-based worship (praise as devotion).