Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 79

Devanagari script

तावच्चिकित्सा कर्तव्या कालस्य कुटिला गतिः । इति प्राहुः पुरा श्लोकं भिषग्वैद्याब्धिपारगाः

Transliteration

tāvaccikitsā kartavyā kālasya kuṭilā gatiḥ | iti prāhuḥ purā ślokaṃ bhiṣagvaidyābdhipāragāḥ

Translation

Jusque-là, le soin doit être entrepris, car la marche du Temps est tortueuse et imprévisible. Ainsi, jadis, les médecins ayant traversé l’océan de la science médicale ont énoncé ce verset.

Word by Word

• तावत्: so long; until then
• तावत्: Desha-kala-adhikarana (Temporal extent)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/अवधि-सूचक (so long/that long)

• चिकित्सा: treatment
• चिकित्सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चिकित्सा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• कर्तव्या: should be done
• कर्तव्या: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु) + तव्यत् (कृदन्त)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (gerundive/future passive participle); स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विधेय (should be done)

• कालस्य: of time
• कालस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• कुटिला: crooked; unpredictable
• कुटिला: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुटिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• गतिः: course; movement
• गतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Quotative particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण-समाप्ति निपात (thus)

• प्राहुः: they said
• प्राहुः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + अह् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Desha-kala-adhikarana (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (formerly/once)

• श्लोकम्: a verse
• श्लोकम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• भिषग्वैद्याब्धिपारगाः: physicians who have crossed the ocean of medical knowledge
• भिषग्वैद्याब्धिपारगाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भिषग्वैद्याब्धिपारग (प्रातिपदिक) = भिषक् + वैद्य + अब्धि + पारग
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषसमासः (वैद्य-अब्धेः पारगाः; भिषक्/वैद्याः)

Speaker

Not explicit in snippet (citing an ancient medical maxim)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Setukṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: sages/pilgrims

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Elder physicians (vaidya-ābdhi-pāraga) recite an old maxim about Time’s crooked course; scrolls, herbs, and a teaching circle are shown.

Characters & Entities

• Kāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Because outcomes are not fully knowable, dharma lies in sustained right effort rather than fatalistic withdrawal.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is directly glorified in this verse; it supports the Setukhaṇḍa’s moral instruction.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a practical-ethical prescription to continue treatment.