Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

देव्युवाच । यद्येवं सकलश्चंद्रः कथं न विधृतस्त्वया । अन्तभावे कलानां तत्कारणं कथय प्रभो

Transliteration

devyuvāca | yadyevaṃ sakalaścaṃdraḥ kathaṃ na vidhṛtastvayā | antabhāve kalānāṃ tatkāraṇaṃ kathaya prabho

Translation

Devī dit : S’il en est ainsi, puisque la Lune est entière, pourquoi ne l’as-tu pas retenue dans sa plénitude ? Dis-moi, ô Seigneur, la cause de la disparition (du déclin) de ses kalā, ses parts.

Word by Word

• devī: the Goddess
• devī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Ekavacana

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Verbal predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: Liṭ-lakāra (Perfect), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), Ekavacana, Parasmaipada

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Clause linker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (Conditional particle/शर्तबोधक)

• evam: thus/so
• evam: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (Manner adverb/प्रकारवाचक)

• sakalaḥ: whole/complete
• sakalaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sakala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Ekavacana; qualifies candraḥ

• candraḥ: the moon
• candraḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: candra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Ekavacana

• katham: how
• katham: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (Interrogative adverb/प्रश्नवाचक)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (Negation particle/निषेध)

• vidhṛtaḥ: held/born (on you)
• vidhṛtaḥ: Kriyā (Verbal predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhṛ (धातु) + vi- (उपसर्ग) + -ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kṛdanta (Past Passive Participle/क्त), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Ekavacana; passive sense: 'was held'

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Kartṛ (Agent in passive/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (Pronoun), Tṛtīyā-vibhakti (Instrumental/3rd), Ekavacana

• antabhāve: in the disappearance/end-state
• antabhāve: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anta (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa-samāsa (antasya bhāvaḥ), Puṃliṅga, Saptamī-vibhakti (Locative/7th), Ekavacana

• kalānām: of the digits/phases
• kalānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī-vibhakti (Genitive/6th), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• tat: that
• tat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (Pronoun used adjectivally), Napuṃsakaliṅga, Dvitīyā-vibhakti, Ekavacana; qualifies kāraṇam

• kāraṇam: reason/cause
• kāraṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Dvitīyā-vibhakti (Accusative/2nd), Ekavacana

• kathaya: tell
• kathaya: Kriyā (Verbal predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kath (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (Imperative), Madhyama-puruṣa (2nd person), Ekavacana, Parasmaipada

• prabho: O Lord
• prabho: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Sambodhana-vibhakti (Vocative), Ekavacana

Speaker

Devī (Pārvatī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Īśvara

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī, in reverent curiosity, questions Īśvara about why the Moon, though inherently complete, is not held in perpetual fullness and why its kalās disappear.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Śiva
• Candra
• Kalā (lunar digits/phases)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even sacred symbols invite deeper inquiry: devotees seek not only reverence but understanding of cosmic rhythms and their dharmic meaning.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The question continues within Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya, keeping Prabhāsa as the sacred narrative frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; this verse is a theological question about lunar phases (kalās).