Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 93

Devanagari script

काललोपो न कर्त्तव्यो द्विजेन स्वहितेप्सुना । अर्द्धोदयास्तसमये तस्माद्वज्रोदकं क्षिपेत्

Transliteration

kālalopo na karttavyo dvijena svahitepsunā | arddhodayāstasamaye tasmādvajrodakaṃ kṣipet

Translation

Le dvija qui désire son propre bien ne doit pas laisser passer l’heure prescrite ; ainsi, aux instants du demi-lever et du coucher, qu’il offre l’eau-vajra (arghya).

Word by Word

• काल-लोपः: omission of the proper time
• काल-लोपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक) + लोप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (कालस्य लोपः)

• न: not
• न: Nishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation)

• कर्तव्यः: to be done / should be done
• कर्तव्यः: Vidhi (Obligation/विधि)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: कृत्य-प्रत्ययान्त (तव्यत्), पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय (ought to be done)

• द्विजेन: by a Brahmin
• द्विजेन: Karta (Agent in passive sense/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; कर्तृ-करणे (by a Brahmin)

• स्व-हित-इप्सुना: desiring his own welfare
• स्व-हित-इप्सुना: Karta (Agent qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्व (प्रातिपदिक) + हित (प्रातिपदिक) + इप्सु (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √आप्/इप्स् ‘to desire’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः— ‘स्वहितम् इप्सुः’ (desiring one’s own welfare)

• अर्द्ध-उदय-अस्त-समये: at the time of half-rise and sunset
• अर्द्ध-उदय-अस्त-समये: Adhikarana (Locus/Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्द्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + उदय (प्रातिपदिक) + अस्त (प्रातिपदिक) + समय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समाहारः— ‘अर्द्धोदयः च अस्तः च तयोः समयः’ (at the time of half-rise and setting)

• तस्मात्: therefore
• तस्मात्: Hetu (Reason/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तस्मात् इति अव्ययीभाववत् प्रयोगः; हेत्वर्थे/तस्मादर्थे (therefore/from that)

• वज्र-उदकम्: vajra-water
• वज्र-उदकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वज्र (प्रातिपदिक) + उदक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वज्रस्य उदकम्)

• क्षिपेत्: should throw
• क्षिपेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्षिप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

Speaker

Traditional Purāṇic narrator (contextual instruction within Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa; speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sandhyā-kāla (Ardhodaya/Astamaya)

Type: ghat

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The Sun is half above the horizon; a devotee offers arghya exactly at the liminal instant, the water shining like a vajra; a clock-like cosmic wheel motif suggests kāla’s authority.

Characters & Entities

• Dvija
• Vajrodaka (arghya-water)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right action must be joined to right time; punctuality in sacred duties is itself a form of dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is instructional on ritual timing within Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa, not a direct tīrtha-panegyric.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Offering vajrodaka (arghya-water) specifically at twilight—at half-rising (dawn) and at sunset.