Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

पितृकल्पस्तथांते च या कुहूर्ब्रह्मणः स्मृता । त्रिंशत्कल्पाः समाख्याता ब्रह्मणो मासि वै प्रिये

Transliteration

pitṛkalpastathāṃte ca yā kuhūrbrahmaṇaḥ smṛtā | triṃśatkalpāḥ samākhyātā brahmaṇo māsi vai priye

Translation

Et à la fin se trouve le Pitṛ-kalpa ; et Kuhu est tenue en mémoire comme relevant de Brahmā. Ainsi, ô bien-aimée, trente kalpas sont énumérés comme constituant un « mois » de Brahmā.

Word by Word

• pitṛkalpaḥ: Pitṛkalpa (name)
• pitṛkalpaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (pitṝṇāṃ kalpaḥ)

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• ante: at the end
• ante: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

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

• yā: who/which (fem.)
• yā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• kuhūḥ: Kuhū (name/new-moon)
• kuhūḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuhū (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; नामरूप (new-moon day/name)

• brahmaṇaḥ: of Brahmā
• brahmaṇaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (प्रयोगे पुं), षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• smṛtā: remembered/called
• smṛtā: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √smṛ (धातु); smṛta (कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘is remembered/called’

• triṃśatkalpāḥ: thirty kalpas
• triṃśatkalpāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: triṃśat (प्रातिपदिक) + kalpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; संख्या-तत्पुरुष (triṃśat kalpāḥ = thirty kalpas)

• samākhyātāḥ: enumerated/declared
• samākhyātāḥ: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √khyā (धातु) + sam-ā-; samākhyāta (कृदन्त, क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; ‘are enumerated/declared’

• brahmaṇaḥ: of Brahmā
• brahmaṇaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (Genitive), एकवचन

• māsi: in (a) month
• māsi: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative), एकवचन

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

• priye: O dear (one)
• priye: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: priya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/Vocative), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa māhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic tableau: Brahmā’s calendric ‘month’ shown as thirty luminous kalpa-orbs revolving around a lotus-throne, with Prabhāsa’s shoreline and Somnātha silhouette anchoring the scene below.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Brahmā
• Kuhū

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma includes reverence for cosmic order and ancestral principle (Pitṛ), integrating devotion with remembrance of time’s sacred structure.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra remains the setting; the verse provides cosmological context supporting the tīrtha’s grandeur.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite is stated, though Pitṛ-kalpa naturally resonates with Pitṛ-tarpaṇa themes in broader dharma.