Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 66

Devanagari script

वर्षार्धं वर्षमेकं वा सिद्धास्ते तत्त्वचारिणः । आश्वयुक्छुक्लपक्षे च मन्वादिष्वष्टकासु च

Transliteration

varṣārdhaṃ varṣamekaṃ vā siddhāste tattvacāriṇaḥ | āśvayukchuklapakṣe ca manvādiṣvaṣṭakāsu ca

Translation

അർദ്ധവർഷമോ ഒരു വർഷമോ കഴിഞ്ഞാൽ തത്ത്വനിഷ്ഠരായ സാധകർ സിദ്ധി പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു. പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് ആശ്വയുജ ശുക്ലപക്ഷത്തിലും, മന്വാദി മുതലായ അഷ്ടകാ ദിനങ്ങളിലും।

Word by Word

• varṣārdham: half a year
• varṣārdham: Kāla (Duration/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa + ardha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; Samāsa: varṣasya ardham (half a year)

• varṣam: a year
• varṣam: Kāla (Duration/काल)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• ekam: one
• ekam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; agrees with varṣam

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Alternative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: Vikalpa-avyaya (disjunctive particle)

• siddhāḥ: the accomplished ones
• siddhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: siddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

• te: they/those
• te: Karta (Apposition to subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural

• tattva-cāriṇaḥ: practitioners of truth
• tattva-cāriṇaḥ: Karta (Apposition to subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tattva + cārin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; Samāsa: tattve cārinaḥ (those who practice/abide in truth)

• āśvayuk-śukla-pakṣe: in the bright fortnight of Āśvayuja
• āśvayuk-śukla-pakṣe: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āśvayuj + śukla + pakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular; Samāsa: āśvayuja-māse śuklaḥ pakṣaḥ (in the bright fortnight of Āśvayuja)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Coordinator)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-avyaya (conjunction)

• manvādiṣu: on (days/occasions) beginning with Manu (Manvādi)
• manvādiṣu: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/occasion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manu + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (as gaṇa-name), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Plural; Samāsa: manu-ādi (beginning with Manu)

• aṣṭakāsu: on the Aṣṭakā days
• aṣṭakāsu: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṣṭakā (प्रातिपदik)
• Form: Feminine, Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Plural

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Coordinator)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Samuccaya-avyaya (conjunction)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Prabhāsa Māhātmya narrative style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsakṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A band of disciplined sādhakas at Prabhāsa performing dawn rites; lunar-bright Āśvayuja śukla sky; a calendar-marked Aṣṭakā day; ascetics with japa-mālā and water-vessels near the sea/temple precinct.

Characters & Entities

• Āśvayuja (Āśvin) Śukla-pakṣa
• Manvādi
• Aṣṭakā
• Caṇḍikā (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steady practice over time—aligned with auspicious calendrical moments—ripens into spiritual accomplishment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, the Māhātmya context in which these timings and fruits of practice are taught.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Maintain Caṇḍikā-japa discipline for half a year or a year, with special observance in Āśvayuja bright fortnight and on Manvādi-related Aṣṭakā days.