Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मांडं संवृतं ह्येतत्कटाहेन समंततः । कपित्थस्य यथा बीजं कटाहेन सुसंवृतम्

Transliteration

brahmāṃḍaṃ saṃvṛtaṃ hyetatkaṭāhena samaṃtataḥ | kapitthasya yathā bījaṃ kaṭāhena susaṃvṛtam

Translation

ไข่จักรวาลนี้ถูกห่อหุ้มรอบด้านด้วยเปลือกดุจหม้อใหญ่โดยแท้; ดุจเมล็ดกปิตถะ (ผลไม้ wood-apple) ที่ถูกปิดแน่นอยู่ในเปลือกแข็งของมัน

Word by Word

• ब्रह्माण्डम्: the cosmic egg (universe)
• ब्रह्माण्डम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्माण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Singular); समासः—ब्रह्म + अण्ड (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/निर्धारणार्थ)

• संवृतम्: covered, enclosed
• संवृतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + वृ (धातु) → संवृत (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (Past Passive Participle, क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; ब्रह्माण्डम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), अवधान/हेतु-अर्थे (indeed/for)

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Singular); सर्वनाम

• कटाहेन: by a cauldron/pot
• कटाहेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कटाह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Singular)

• समन्ततः: on all sides, all around
• समन्ततः: Adhikarana (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• कपित्थस्य: of the wood-apple (kapittha)
• कपित्थस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपित्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Genitive, Singular)

• यथा: as, just like
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparison marker/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, उपमानार्थ (comparative particle)

• बीजम्: seed
• बीजम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बीज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (Neuter, Nom./Acc., Singular)

• कटाहेन: by a cauldron/pot
• कटाहेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कटाह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Masculine, Instrumental, Singular)

• सुसंवृतम्: well-enclosed, tightly covered
• सुसंवृतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + सम् + वृ (धातु) → सुसंवृत (कृदन्त, क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (Past Passive Participle, क्त) with उपसर्ग/उपपद ‘सु’ (well-); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; बीजम् इति विशेष्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha (Arjuna)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vast luminous brahmāṇḍa depicted as an egg-like sphere encased in a dark, cauldron-thick shell; beside it, a wood-apple (kapittha) cut open showing a tightly enclosed seed—visual analogy linking micro and macro.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmāṇḍa
• Kaṭāha
• Kapittha (wood-apple)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The cosmos is depicted as a bounded, ordered system—an image that supports contemplation on the vastness yet finitude of manifested creation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; this is a cosmological analogy.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.