Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

अत्रैवैषा युगावस्था चतुर्वर्णश्च वै जनः । चत्वारि त्रीणि च द्वे च तथैवैक शरच्छतम्

Transliteration

atraivaiṣā yugāvasthā caturvarṇaśca vai janaḥ | catvāri trīṇi ca dve ca tathaivaika śaracchatam

Translation

Hier ist wahrlich diese Ordnung der Yugas, und hier ist auch die Menschheit nach den vier Varṇas gegliedert. (Die Dauer der Yugas) wird bemessen mit vier, drei, zwei und ebenso mit hundert „Herbst-Jahrhunderten“ als jeweiligem Maß.

Word by Word

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: Deśa-avyaya (adverb of place)

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avadhāraṇa-avyaya (emphatic particle)

• eṣā: this (she/this)
• eṣā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/1st), Ekavacana; sarvanāma

• yuga-avasthā: the yuga-condition/state
• yuga-avasthā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuga (प्रातिपदिक) + avasthā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (f.), Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana; ṣaṣṭhī-tatpuruṣa ‘state of yuga(s)’

• catur-varṇaḥ: fourfold in varṇa
• catur-varṇaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक) + varṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa ‘having four varṇas’ used adjectivally

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

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (particle; emphasis/assertion)

• janaḥ: people
• janaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (m.), Prathamā vibhakti, Ekavacana

• catvāri: four
• catvāri: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: catvāri (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā/Accusative vibhakti (1st/2nd), Bahuvacana; numeral

• trīṇi: three
• trīṇi: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: trīṇi (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā/Accusative, Bahuvacana; numeral

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

• dve: two
• dve: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvi (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā/Accusative, Dvivacana (Dual); numeral

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

• tathā: thus/so
• tathā: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Prakāra-avyaya (adverb ‘thus/so’)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avadhāraṇa-avyaya (emphatic particle)

• ekam: one
• ekam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā/Accusative, Ekavacana; numeral

• śarat-śatam: a hundred years
• śarat-śatam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śarat (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga (n.), Prathamā/Accusative, Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa ‘a hundred (years) of autumns’ i.e., years

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (addressed as ‘devi’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred narrator in Prabhāsa explains the four yugas as descending measures (4-3-2-1), with a cosmic wheel of time behind, and the four varṇas arranged in orderly quadrants, all anchored to a luminous coastal kṣetra.

Characters & Entities

• Yuga
• Caturvarṇa
• Bhārata

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Time (yugas) and society (varṇas) are portrayed as dharmic structures within which human life is to be lived responsibly.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha; the verse sets the dharmic-cosmological background for the Prabhāsa-kṣetra glorification.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it states yuga and social-order concepts.