Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

निमिषाणां च षष्ट्या वै फल इत्यभिधीयते । पंचदश्या अहोरात्रैः पक्षैत्यभिधीयते

Transliteration

nimiṣāṇāṃ ca ṣaṣṭyā vai phala ityabhidhīyate | paṃcadaśyā ahorātraiḥ pakṣaityabhidhīyate

Translation

Soixante nimeṣas (clignements) sont appelés phala, une mesure du temps ; et quinze cycles de jour et de nuit (ahorātra) sont appelés pakṣa, une quinzaine.

Word by Word

• nimiṣāṇām: of blinks (nimiṣas)
• nimiṣāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nimiṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

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

• ṣaṣṭyā: by sixty (i.e., in a set of sixty)
• ṣaṣṭyā: Karaṇa (Instrument/Measure/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक (numeral)

• vai: indeed
• vai: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vai (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• phalaḥ: a phala (unit/name)
• phalaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/इति-प्रयोग (quotative particle)

• abhidhīyate: is called
• abhidhīyate: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi-dhā (धा धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), कर्मणि प्रयोग (Passive), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• paṃcadaśyā: by fifteen
• paṃcadaśyā: Karaṇa (Instrument/Measure/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṃcadaśī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संख्यावाचक (fifteen)

• ahorātraiḥ: with day-nights (days and nights)
• ahorātraiḥ: Karaṇa (Measure/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ahaḥ (प्रातिपदिक) + rātri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास (day-and-night)

• pakṣaḥ: a fortnight
• pakṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/इति-प्रयोग (quotative particle)

• abhidhīyate: is called
• abhidhīyate: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi-dhā (धा धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, कर्मणि (Passive), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) addressing the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra (Kedāranātha)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic calendar-scroll unfurls: blinks become counted beads, beads become day-night cycles, and those become a fortnight marked by waxing/waning moon above Kedāra peaks.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma and worship become fruitful when one understands sacred time (kāla) and acts at the proper divisions of the calendar.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kedāra sacred region is the broader setting, though this verse focuses on time-divisions rather than a single tirtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is prescribed here; it defines calendar units used for timing vows, worship, and charity.