Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

अमादिपौर्णमास्यंता या एव शशिनः कलाः । तिथयस्ताः समाख्याताः षोडशैव प्रकीर्तिताः

Transliteration

amādipaurṇamāsyaṃtā yā eva śaśinaḥ kalāḥ | tithayastāḥ samākhyātāḥ ṣoḍaśaiva prakīrtitāḥ

Translation

From Amā (new moon) up to the full-moon end—those very phases of the Moon are called “tithis”; they are proclaimed to be precisely sixteen.

Word by Word

• amādi-paurṇamāsī-antāḥ: beginning with new-moon and ending with full-moon
• amādi-paurṇamāsī-antāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: amā (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + paurṇamāsī (प्रातिपदिक) + anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa-samāsa (amā-ādi ... paurṇamāsī-antāḥ: 'beginning with amā and ending with paurṇamāsī'), Strīliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Bahuvacana; qualifies kalāḥ

• yāḥ: which
• yāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Relative pronoun, Strīliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Bahuvacana

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (Emphatic particle/अवधारण)

• śaśinaḥ: of the moon
• śaśinaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaśin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī-vibhakti, Ekavacana

• kalāḥ: digits/phases
• kalāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Bahuvacana

• tithayaḥ: lunar days (tithis)
• tithayaḥ: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tithi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Bahuvacana

• tāḥ: those
• tāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Demonstrative pronoun, Strīliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Bahuvacana; refers to kalāḥ/tithayaḥ

• samākhyātāḥ: are named/called
• samākhyātāḥ: Kriyā (Verbal predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: khyā (धातु) + sam- (उपसर्ग) + ā- (उपसर्ग) + -ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kṛdanta (Past Passive Participle/क्त), Strīliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Bahuvacana; predicative: 'are called'

• ṣoḍaśa: sixteen
• ṣoḍaśa: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣoḍaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Numeral used adjectivally, (agreeing with tāḥ) Strīliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Bahuvacana (indeclinable-like numeral usage)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (Emphatic particle/अवधारण)

• prakīrtitāḥ: are proclaimed
• prakīrtitāḥ: Kriyā (Verbal predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kīrt (धातु) + pra- (उपसर्ग) + -ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kṛdanta (Past Passive Participle/क्त), Strīliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Bahuvacana; predicative: 'are proclaimed'

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Īśvara enumerates: the Moon’s phases from Amā to Paurṇamāsī are called tithis, exactly sixteen in number.

Characters & Entities

• Amā
• Paurṇamāsī
• Śaśin (Moon)
• Tithi
• Kalā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred time is mapped onto the Moon’s kalās; observing tithis aligns human life with cosmic rhythm.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra is the narrative setting; the Māhātmya presents it as a place where dharma of time-observance is illuminated.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, it supports tithi-based observances (vratas, pūjā timing), but no single rite is specified in this verse.