Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

निमिषैस्त्रिंशद्भिः काष्ठा ताभिर्विंशतिभिः कला । विंशतिकलो मुहूर्तः स्याद्दिनं पंचदशैस्तु तैः

Transliteration

nimiṣaistriṃśadbhiḥ kāṣṭhā tābhirviṃśatibhiḥ kalā | viṃśatikalo muhūrtaḥ syāddinaṃ paṃcadaśaistu taiḥ

Translation

ثلاثون نيميشا تُكوِّن كاشتها واحدة؛ وعشرون كاشتها تُكوِّن كالا واحدة. وعشرون كالا تُكوِّن مُهورتا واحدة؛ وخمس عشرة مُهورتا من ذلك تكون يومًا.

Word by Word

• nimiṣaiḥ: by (means of) blinks (nimiṣas)
• nimiṣaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nimiṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Vibhakti-3), बहुवचन

• triṃśadbhiḥ: by thirty
• triṃśadbhiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: triṃśat (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे (काष्ठा-विशेषण), तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक

• kāṣṭhā: a kāṣṭhā (unit of time)
• kāṣṭhā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāṣṭhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• tābhiḥ: by those (kāṣṭhās)
• tābhiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• viṃśatibhiḥ: by twenty
• viṃśatibhiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viṃśati (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे (कला-विशेषण), तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक

• kalā: a kalā (unit of time)
• kalā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• viṃśati-kalaḥ: consisting of twenty kalās
• viṃśati-kalaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: viṃśati (संख्या) + kalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (संख्यापूर्वकः)

• muhūrtaḥ: a muhūrta
• muhūrtaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: muhūrta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• syāt: would be / is (defined as)
• syāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• dinam: a day
• dinam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dina (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• paṃcadaśaiḥ: by fifteen
• paṃcadaśaiḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paṃcadaśa (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे (तैः—मूहूर्तैः इत्यर्थे), तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक

• tu: indeed / but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (emphatic/contrastive particle)

• taiḥ: by those (muhūrtas)
• taiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम (मूहूर्तैः इत्यर्थे)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A clean schematic: a vertical ladder of units—nimeṣa → kāṣṭhā → kalā → muhūrta → day—inscribed on a palm-leaf, with a pilgrim-priest near Somnātha preparing for a timed rite.

Characters & Entities

• Nimeṣa
• Kāṣṭhā
• Kalā
• Muhūrta
• Dina

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual life is grounded in precise measures of time; sacred order is expressed through exact gradations.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Prabhāsa Māhātmya context links these time-measures to the sanctity of Prabhāsakṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Indirectly, it underpins muhūrta-based prescriptions (timing of pūjā, vrata, snāna), though none is named here.