Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

दिवसे पंच कालाः स्युस्त्रिमुहूर्ताः श्रृणुष्व तान् । प्रातस्ततः संगवश्च मध्याह्नश्चापराह्णकः

Transliteration

divase paṃca kālāḥ syustrimuhūrtāḥ śrṛṇuṣva tān | prātastataḥ saṃgavaśca madhyāhnaścāparāhṇakaḥ

Translation

Dalam satu hari ada lima kala, masing-masing tiga muhūrta—dengarkanlah: pagi (prātaḥ), kemudian saṃgava, kemudian tengah hari (madhyāhna), dan sore (aparāhṇa).

Word by Word

• divase: in a day
• divase: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: divasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• paṃca: five
• paṃca: Visheshana (Quantifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pañca (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्या; परिमाणवाचक (five)

• kālāḥ: time-periods
• kālāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural)

• syuḥ: are/should be
• syuḥ: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन (Plural), परस्मैपद

• tri-muhūrtāḥ: three-muhūrta periods
• tri-muhūrtāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tri + muhūrta (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); द्विगुसमासः (trayaḥ muhūrtāḥ)

• śrṛṇuṣva: listen
• śrṛṇuṣva: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद

• tān: those
• tān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), बहुवचन (Plural)

• prātaḥ: in the morning
• prātaḥ: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: prātaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (temporal adverb: in the morning)

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Sequencer)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनन्तरार्थक/ततः (thereafter/then)

• saṃgavaḥ: forenoon (saṃgava)
• saṃgavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃgava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (and)

• madhyāhnaḥ: midday
• madhyāhnaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: madhyāhna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक (and)

• aparāhṇakaḥ: afternoon (aparāhṇa)
• aparāhṇakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aparāhṇaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced: Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A visual ‘day wheel’ split into five arcs labeled prātaḥ, saṃgava, madhyāhna, aparāhṇa, sāyāhna; pilgrims perform successive acts—bathing, offering flowers, lamp worship—across the segments.

Characters & Entities

• muhūrta
• prātas
• saṃgava
• madhyāhna
• aparāhṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is practiced in harmony with sacred time; dividing the day guides timely worship and duties.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is mentioned; it is a general dharmic time-structure.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly supports scheduling of sandhyā, pūjā, and daily duties by time-periods; no single ritual is named.