Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

अतीता ये चंद्रमसो भविष्यंति च येऽधुना । तेषां पूज्यमिदं लिंगं यावदन्योऽष्टवार्षिकः

Transliteration

atītā ye caṃdramaso bhaviṣyaṃti ca ye'dhunā | teṣāṃ pūjyamidaṃ liṃgaṃ yāvadanyo'ṣṭavārṣikaḥ

Translation

Pour les Candra du passé, ceux de l’avenir et ceux d’aujourd’hui : ce liṅga doit être adoré par eux, jusqu’à ce qu’apparaisse une autre manifestation âgée de huit ans.

Word by Word

• atītāḥ: past (ones)
• atītāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: atīta (कृदन्त; √i (धातु) + ati उपसर्ग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त) — 'gone/past'

• ye: who/which (those)
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धसूचक सर्वनाम

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

• candramasaḥ: of the Moon
• candramasaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: candramas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• bhaviṣyanti: will be
• bhaviṣyanti: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

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

• ye: who (those)
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• adhunā: now
• adhunā: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adhunā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• pūjyam: worthy of worship
• pūjyam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūjya (कृदन्त; √pūj (धातु))
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; कर्मणि कृदन्त (यत्) — 'to be worshipped'

• idam: this
• idam: Viśeṣya (Qualified noun/विशेष्य)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• liṅgam: liṅga (Śiva-emblem)
• liṅgam: Karma/Viṣaya (Object/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन

• yāvat: until/as long as
• yāvat: Adhikaraṇa (Limit/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय)
• Form: परिमाण/अवधिबोधक अव्यय (until/as long as)

• anyaḥ: another
• anyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• aṣṭavārṣikaḥ: eight-year-old
• aṣṭavārṣikaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṣṭa + vārṣika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (संख्यापूर्वक) ‘aṣṭa-vārṣika’ = ‘eight-year-old’

Speaker

Rudra/Śiva (continuing the boon/discourse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Somnātha liṅga in Prabhāsa-kṣetra (Soma-associated liṅga)

Type: temple

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A central liṅga radiates steady light while three temporal bands (past, present, future) show different ‘Candra’ figures approaching in worship. A subtle motif of an ‘eight-year-old’ divine manifestation is hinted as a future appearance.

Characters & Entities

• Candra/Soma
• Liṅga
• Somnātha (context)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True sacred centers sustain worship across time; devotion is portrayed as an unbroken lineage linking past, present, and future.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Somnātha at Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Liṅga-pūjā (worship of the liṅga) is prescribed as an ongoing duty for Soma’s lineage/forms.