Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 35

Devanagari script

अथ क्षुत्क्षामकण्ठस्य श्रांतस्य मम भास्करः । अस्ताचलमनुप्राप्तः संध्याकालस्ततोऽभवत्

Transliteration

atha kṣutkṣāmakaṇṭhasya śrāṃtasya mama bhāskaraḥ | astācalamanuprāptaḥ saṃdhyākālastato'bhavat

Translation

ત્યારે ભૂખથી સૂકાયેલા કંઠ અને શ્રમથી થાકેલા હું હતો; ભાસ્કર અસ્તાચલને પહોંચ્યો અને સંધ્યાકાળ આવ્યો।

Word by Word

• atha: then; now
• atha: Anantarya (Sequence/अनन्तर)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तरार्थक-निपातः)

• kṣut-kṣāma-kaṇṭhasya: of (me) whose throat was emaciated by hunger
• kṣut-kṣāma-kaṇṭhasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣut (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣāma (प्रातिपदिक) + kaṇṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समास (तत्पुरुष; ‘hunger-thinned throat’); पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचनम्

• śrāntasya: of (me) tired
• śrāntasya: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śrānta (bhram/śram धातु-निष्पन्न क्त-कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्तं भूतकृदन्तम्; पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचनम्; mama इत्यस्य विशेषणम् — ‘tired’

• mama: my; of me
• mama: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी, एकवचनम्

• bhāskaraḥ: the sun
• bhāskaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāskara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

• asta-acalam: the western mountain (mount of setting)
• asta-acalam: Karma (Goal/कर्म-गति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asta (प्रातिपदिक) + acala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्; गत्यर्थकक्रियायाः कर्म/गन्तव्यं

• anuprāptaḥ: reached
• anuprāptaḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu+pra+āp (धातु) + kta (क्त) → anuprāpta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्तं भूतकृदन्तम्; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्; bhāskaraḥ इति कर्तरि — ‘having reached’

• saṃdhyā-kālaḥ: the time of twilight
• saṃdhyā-kālaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃdhyā (प्रातिपदिक) + kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

• tataḥ: then; thereupon
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषणम्) — thereupon

• abhavat: became; occurred
• abhavat: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकारः (अनद्यतनभूत/इम्परफेक्ट), परस्मैपदम्; प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

Speaker

Unspecified narrator (a devotee/pilgrim speaking within the Tīrthamāhātmya context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Camatkārapura

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-sattamāḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The sun sinking; long shadows in the city; the traveler clutching his throat, exhausted; the sky turning saffron; a ruined shrine silhouette ahead.

Characters & Entities

• Bhāskara (Sun)
• Saṃdhyā (twilight)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

As day turns to twilight, the narrative signals a shift from worldly striving to spiritual turning—night becomes a field for devotion.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader setting is the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s tīrtha-region; the story is moving toward Mahākāla’s sacred precinct.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, saṃdhyā-time is sacred for worship, though no specific saṃdhyā-rite is stated here.