Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 123

Devanagari script

त्रयोदशी नभस्ये च कृष्णा सा हि कलेः स्मृता । युगादयः स्मृता ह्येता दत्तस्याक्षयकारकाः

Transliteration

trayodaśī nabhasye ca kṛṣṇā sā hi kaleḥ smṛtā | yugādayaḥ smṛtā hyetā dattasyākṣayakārakāḥ

Translation

Und der dunkle dreizehnte Tithi im Monat Nabhasya gilt als Beginn des Kali-Yuga. Diese heißen Yugādis und machen dāna (heilige Gabe) von unerschöpflicher Frucht.

Word by Word

• trayodaśī: the thirteenth lunar day (Trayodaśī)
• trayodaśī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: trayodaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• nabhasye: in the month Nabhasya (Bhādrapada)
• nabhasye: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nabhasya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; मास-नाम (Nabhasya = Bhādrapada)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• kṛṣṇā: dark (of the waning fortnight)
• kṛṣṇā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛṣṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (कृष्णपक्षसम्बन्धिनी)

• sā: that (she/it)
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; emphasis/indeed)

• kaleḥ: of Kali (Kali-yuga)
• kaleḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kali (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• smṛtā: is remembered/considered
• smṛtā: Karma (Predicate complement/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे विधेय (predicate)

• yugādayaḥ: the beginnings of the yugas
• yugādayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuga + ādi (प्रातिपदिक); समास
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (युगस्य आदयः = beginnings of yugas)

• smṛtāḥ: are remembered/considered
• smṛtāḥ: Karma (Predicate complement/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: smṛ (धातु) + ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगे विधेय

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle; emphasis)

• etāḥ: these
• etāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• dattasya: of a gift/charity given
• dattasya: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: datta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; ‘दत्त’ = दानकर्म (gift given)

• akṣayakārakāḥ: causing imperishability (yielding inexhaustible merit)
• akṣayakārakāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: akṣaya + kāraka (प्रातिपदिक); समास
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-भावः (अक्षयं करोति इति) विशेषण

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), addressing the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A calm ritual setting at dawn: a donor offers gifts to a worthy recipient while a pañcāṅga is consulted; above, a subtle cosmic wheel marks the yugādi threshold and the onset of Kali remembered on kṛṣṇa-trayodaśī of Nabhasya.

Characters & Entities

• Nabhasya
• Kali Yuga
• Yugādi

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity offered at cosmically significant times (Yugādi) becomes akṣaya—its merit does not diminish.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned; the emphasis is on sacred time and the fruit of dāna.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Performing dāna on Yugādi tithis to obtain akṣaya (inexhaustible) merit.