Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

ततः काले बहुतिथे व्यतिक्रान्ते कदाचन । प्राप्तः कालोऽथ मर्तव्यो यत्र सत्यव्रतो नृपः

Transliteration

tataḥ kāle bahutithe vyatikrānte kadācana | prāptaḥ kālo'tha martavyo yatra satyavrato nṛpaḥ

Translation

Puis, après que bien des jours se furent écoulés, vint un moment où l’heure du destin arriva—celle où le roi Satyavrata devait mourir.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — अपादान/क्रमसूचकः; ‘thereafter/then’

• काले: in (due) time
• काले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — locative ‘in time/at a time’

• बहुतिथे: after many days (lit. in many-date time)
• बहुतिथे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु-तिथि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — विशेषणम्; ‘in a time of many days’

• व्यतिक्रान्ते: having passed, elapsed
• व्यतिक्रान्ते: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि+अति+क्रम् (धातु) → व्यतिक्रान्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — ‘when (time) had passed’

• कदाचन: once, at some time
• कदाचन: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कदाचन (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक/अनिश्चित) — ‘at some time/once’

• प्राप्तः: arrived, come
• प्राप्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र+आप् (धातु) → प्राप्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — विशेषणम्; ‘arrived/come’

• कालः: the time
• कालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘time’

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connective/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/अनन्तर्यसूचक) — ‘then/now’

• मर्तव्यः: must die, is destined to die
• मर्तव्यः: Karya (Obligation/कार्य)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृ (धातु) → मर्तव्य (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृत्यप्रत्यय (तव्यत्), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — विधेयविशेषणम्; ‘to be died / must die’

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक/सम्बन्ध) — ‘where’

• सत्यव्रतः: truth-vowed
• सत्यव्रतः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सत्य-व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — विशेषणम्; ‘one whose vow is truth’

• नृपः: the king
• नृपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘king’

Speaker

Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The atmosphere tightens: many days have passed; the fated hour arrives when Satyavrata/Satyavān is to die—an ominous stillness over the hermitage.

Characters & Entities

• Satyavrata (nṛpa)
• kāla (appointed time)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāla (the appointed time) is inexorable; dharma is proven when one meets destiny with truthfulness and spiritual preparedness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The surrounding discourse is the māhātmya of Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where exemplary stories reinforce the sanctity of the place.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse marks the arrival of the foretold time that prompts vrata and worship in subsequent verses.