Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 32

Devanagari script

अनंतादित्यसंकाशं ज्वलत्तत्पंचमं शिरः । दिधक्षुः प्रलये लोकान्वडवाग्निरिवाबभौ

Transliteration

anaṃtādityasaṃkāśaṃ jvalattatpaṃcamaṃ śiraḥ | didhakṣuḥ pralaye lokānvaḍavāgnirivābabhau

Translation

เศียรที่ห้าอันลุกโชติช่วงนั้นส่องประกายดุจอาทิตย์นับอนันต์; ประหนึ่งมุ่งเผาโลกทั้งหลายยามปรลัย จึงปรากฏดั่งวฑวागนิ—ไฟใต้สมุทร

Word by Word

• ananta-āditya-saṃkāśam: like countless suns
• ananta-āditya-saṃkāśam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ananta (प्रातिपदिक) + āditya (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃkāśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (śiraḥ)

• jvalat: blazing
• jvalat: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √jval (धातु) + शतृ (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (śiraḥ)

• tat-paṃcamam: that fifth
• tat-paṃcamam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + paṃcama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (śiraḥ)

• śiraḥ: head
• śiraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śiras (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन

• didhakṣuḥ: desired to burn
• didhakṣuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dah (धातु) + सन् (इच्छार्थक) → didhakṣ (धातु-आदेश)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्; सन्नन्त-धातु (desiderative)

• pralaye: at the dissolution
• pralaye: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pralaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन

• lokān: worlds
• lokān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), बहुवचन

• vaḍavā-agniḥ: the submarine fire (vaḍavāgni)
• vaḍavā-agniḥ: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaḍavā (प्रातिपदिक) + agni (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• iva: like
• iva: Upama-dyotaka (Comparator/उपमा-द्योतक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमा-वाचक (comparative particle)

• ababhau: appeared/shone forth
• ababhau: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√bhā (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Narrator (contextual Purāṇic narrator within Setu-khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setu-samudra (contextual ocean of Setu)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (frame, not explicit)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Brahmā’s fifth head blazes like innumerable suns, resembling the submarine fire poised to consume worlds at dissolution.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Vaḍavāgni

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Unrestrained brilliance and power, when driven by destructive intent, becomes pralaya-like; dharma demands restraint and right purpose.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Setu-khaṇḍa milieu is linked with Setubandha/Rāmeśvaram, yet this verse uses cosmic imagery rather than naming a tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual instruction appears; it is a descriptive cosmological simile.