Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

यस्तां पश्यति राजेन्द्र शुक्लाष्टम्यां समाहितः । अभीष्टं स सदाप्नोति यद्यपि स्यात्सुदुर्ल्लभम्

Transliteration

yastāṃ paśyati rājendra śuklāṣṭamyāṃ samāhitaḥ | abhīṣṭaṃ sa sadāpnoti yadyapi syātsudurllabham

Translation

ഹേ രാജേന്ദ്രാ! ശുക്ലാഷ്ടമിദിനത്തിൽ ഏകാഗ്രചിത്തത്തോടെ അവളെ ദർശിക്കുന്നവൻ, അത്യന്തം ദുർലഭമായാലും തന്റെ അഭീഷ്ടം എപ്പോഴും പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• yaḥ: who (he who)
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tām: her
• tām: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• paśyati: sees
• paśyati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• rājendra: O best of kings
• rājendra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (राजा एव इन्द्रः)

• śukla-aṣṭamyām: on the bright eighth (tithi)
• śukla-aṣṭamyām: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śukla + aṣṭamī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (शुक्लपक्षस्य अष्टमी)

• samāhitaḥ: with concentrated mind
• samāhitaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-ā-dhā (धातु) + ktá (कृत्)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘collected/attentive’

• abhīṣṭam: the desired (boon)
• abhīṣṭam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: abhīṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (always)

• āpnoti: attains
• āpnoti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• yadi: even if/if
• yadi: Sambandha (Clause linker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; शर्त-निपात (if)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि-निपात (even/also)

• syāt: may be/were to be
• syāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकार (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन

• su-durlabham: very difficult to obtain
• su-durlabham: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa / Karman-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: su + durlabha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारय (सु + दुर्लभ)

Speaker

Narrator addressing the king (Pulastya to a royal listener; explicit addressee ‘rājendra’)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kātyāyanī-darśana at Arbuda-guhā

Type: cave

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A focused devotee beholds Kātyāyanī on the bright eighth lunar day; the deity’s gaze grants the devotee an otherwise unattainable wish.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Śuklāṣṭamī

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Focused devotion (samāhita-citta) combined with auspicious timing yields extraordinary spiritual and worldly fulfillment through the Goddess’s grace.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Goddess’s presence-site on Arbuda mountain, where her darśana is especially fruitful on Śuklāṣṭamī.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Darśana on Śuklāṣṭamī with mental concentration; the verse implies a vrata-like observance tied to that tithi.