Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 63

Devanagari script

उष्णकालो ह्यहं देवि वर्षाकालः पितामहः । शीतकालो भवेद्विष्णुरेवं कालत्रयं हि सः

Transliteration

uṣṇakālo hyahaṃ devi varṣākālaḥ pitāmahaḥ | śītakālo bhavedviṣṇurevaṃ kālatrayaṃ hi saḥ

Translation

يا إلهة، إنّي فصلُ الحرّ؛ وفصلُ الأمطار هو الجدّ الأعظم (براهما). وفصلُ البرد هو فيشنو—وهكذا فإنّ الفصول الثلاثة هي حقًّا هو، المبدأ الإلهي الواحد.

Word by Word

• उष्णकालः: hot season
• उष्णकालः: Samanaadhikarana / Predicate-noun (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: उष्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (उष्णः कालः); पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; (hot season/time)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; (I)

• देवि: O देवी
• देवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; संबोधन विभक्ति, एकवचन; (O goddess)

• वर्षाकालः: rainy season
• वर्षाकालः: Samanaadhikarana / Predicate-noun (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्षा (प्रातिपदिक) + काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वर्षायाः कालः); पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; (rainy season)

• पितामहः: Pitāmaha (Brahmā)
• पितामहः: Samanaadhikarana / Predicate-noun (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; (Pitāmaha/Brahmā)

• शीतकालः: cold season
• शीतकालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शीत (प्रातिपदिक) + काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (शीतः कालः); पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; (cold season)

• भवेत्: would be
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; (would be/should be)

• विष्णुः: Viṣṇu
• विष्णुः: Samanaadhikarana / Predicate-noun (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; (Viṣṇu)

• एवम्: thus
• एवम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb: thus)

• कालत्रयम्: threefold time/three seasons
• कालत्रयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक) + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (त्रयः कालाः); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (the triad of seasons/times)

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• सः: he/that
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग; प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; (he/that)

Speaker

Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Triptych of seasons personified around Śiva-Devī: blazing sun for uṣṇa, monsoon clouds for varṣā with Brahmā, and cool moonlit mist for śīta with Viṣṇu—yet all connected by a single luminous thread signifying one principle.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva
• Devī
• Viṣṇu
• Brahmā
• Kāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Time itself (seasonal change) is a form of the divine; devotion can be practiced through awareness of sacred time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where contemplation of sacred time supports the tīrtha’s purifying greatness.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; the teaching is contemplative—recognize the divine in kāla (time/season).