Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 84

Devanagari script

पूर्णिमायां तथाष्टम्यां विड्वरे राष्ट्रविप्लवे । उपाकर्मणि चोत्सर्गे कल्पादिषु युगादिषु

Transliteration

pūrṇimāyāṃ tathāṣṭamyāṃ viḍvare rāṣṭraviplave | upākarmaṇi cotsarge kalpādiṣu yugādiṣu

Translation

في يوم البدر، وفي اليوم القمري الثامن؛ وعند حلول الكوارث واضطراب البلاد؛ وفي شعائر أوباكَرمان (upākarman) وأوتسَرغا (utsarga)؛ وعند بدايات الكَلْپات (kalpa) واليوغات (yuga)—في جميع هذه الأحوال يُترك درسُ المقدس جانبًا.

Word by Word

• पूर्णिमायाम्: on the full-moon day
• पूर्णिमायाम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्णिमा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• तथा: likewise/also
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: likewise/also)

• अष्टम्याम्: on the eighth lunar day
• अष्टम्याम्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अष्टमी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; lunar 8th day

• विड्वरे: in/at filth (excremental impurity)
• विड्वरे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विड्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; ‘विड्वर’ = excrement/filth (impure place/condition)

• राष्ट्रविप्लवे: during upheaval/calamity of the kingdom
• राष्ट्रविप्लवे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राष्ट्र + विप्लव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः—राष्ट्रस्य विप्लवः = राष्ट्रविप्लवः

• उपाकर्मणि: at the upākarma rite
• उपाकर्मणि: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपाकर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; ‘उपाकर्मन्’ = Vedic term-beginning rite

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Connector/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• उत्सर्गे: at the utsarga (concluding rite)
• उत्सर्गे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्सर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; ‘उत्सर्ग’ = release/ending rite

• कल्पादिषु: in kalpas and the like
• कल्पादिषु: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कल्प + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः—कल्पः आदिः येषां (or ‘कल्प-आदि’ as a set) = कल्पादि; ‘-ṣu’ = locative plural

• युगादिषु: in yugas and the like
• युगादिषु: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), बहुवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः—युग-आदि; ‘-ṣu’ = locative plural

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) to the sages (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ritual hall where a brahmin performs upākarman with sacred thread and water-pot; a full moon rises; a cosmic wheel depicts yuga/kalpa transitions; in the distance, a troubled kingdom scene suggests rāṣṭra-viplava.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual order protects spiritual power: dharma teaches when to act and when to pause, so sacred practices remain auspicious.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it is a general dharma guideline within the Dharmāraṇya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It references upākarman and utsarga as key ritual occasions and treats them as anadhyāya times for Vedic study.