Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

नमो नित्यं क्षुधार्त्ताय नित्यतप्ताय वै नमः । नमः कालाग्निरूपाय कृतांतक नमोस्तु ते

Transliteration

namo nityaṃ kṣudhārttāya nityataptāya vai namaḥ | namaḥ kālāgnirūpāya kṛtāṃtaka namostu te

Translation

السلام الدائم لمن يكتوي بالجوع دائمًا، والسلام لمن يظلّ محترقًا دائمًا. السلام لمن كانت صورته نارَ الزمان؛ يا كِرتانتاكا، لكَ السلام والخضوع.

Word by Word

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Sambodhana/Prayojana (Salutation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोग; नमस्कारार्थक

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Avyaya (Temporal modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्यम् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb)

• क्षुधार्ताय: to (him) afflicted by hunger
• क्षुधार्ताय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षुधा + आर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative/4th), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण

• नित्यतप्ताय: to (him) ever-heated/ever-tormented
• नित्यतप्ताय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नित्य + तप्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative/4th), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण

• वै: indeed
• वै: Avyaya (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निश्चयार्थक/पादपूरण (emphatic particle)

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Sambodhana/Prayojana (Salutation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोग; नमस्कारार्थक

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Sambodhana/Prayojana (Salutation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोग; नमस्कारार्थक

• कालाग्निरूपाय: to (him) whose form is the fire of Time
• कालाग्निरूपाय: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काल + अग्नि + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Dative/4th), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण

• कृतान्तक: O Kṛtāntaka (slayer of Death)
• कृतान्तक: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृतान्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular)

• नमः: salutation
• नमः: Sambodhana/Prayojana (Salutation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नमस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोग; नमस्कारार्थक

• अस्तु: let it be
• अस्तु: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative/benedictive sense), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (Genitive/Dative), एकवचन (Singular); सर्वनाम; अत्र चतुर्थी (to you) प्रायः

Speaker

Narrative voice within Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya (deductively: Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: The king’s addressed deity/being; and the māhātmya audience

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king salutes a being portrayed as ever-hungry, ever-scorched, embodying the fire of Time—Kṛtānta—suggesting a personified Death/Time deity with blazing yet austere presence.

Characters & Entities

• Śanaiścara (Saturn)
• Kāla (Time)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Time and karma ‘burn’ away pride; recognizing the austere, consuming power behind suffering encourages restraint, repentance, and steady dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, where graha-related worship and remembrance are framed as especially potent within the māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it supports japa/recitation as a devotional act for graha-śānti.