Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

ततः काले बहुतिथे व्यतिक्रान्ते कदाचन । प्राप्तः कालोऽथ मर्तव्यो यत्र सत्यव्रतो नृपः

Transliteration

tataḥ kāle bahutithe vyatikrānte kadācana | prāptaḥ kālo'tha martavyo yatra satyavrato nṛpaḥ

Translation

പിന്നീട് പല ദിവസങ്ങൾ കഴിഞ്ഞപ്പോൾ, ഒരിക്കൽ ആ നിശ്ചിത സമയം എത്തി—അപ്പോൾ രാജാവ് സത്യവ്രതൻ മരിക്കേണ്ടതായിരുന്നു।

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — अपादान/क्रमसूचकः; ‘thereafter/then’

• काले: in (due) time
• काले: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन — locative ‘in time/at a time’

• बहुतिथे: after many days (lit. in many-date time)
• बहुतिथे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु-तिथि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — विशेषणम्; ‘in a time of many days’

• व्यतिक्रान्ते: having passed, elapsed
• व्यतिक्रान्ते: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि+अति+क्रम् (धातु) → व्यतिक्रान्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन — ‘when (time) had passed’

• कदाचन: once, at some time
• कदाचन: Adhikarana (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कदाचन (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक/अनिश्चित) — ‘at some time/once’

• प्राप्तः: arrived, come
• प्राप्तः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र+आप् (धातु) → प्राप्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — विशेषणम्; ‘arrived/come’

• कालः: the time
• कालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘time’

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse connective/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/अनन्तर्यसूचक) — ‘then/now’

• मर्तव्यः: must die, is destined to die
• मर्तव्यः: Karya (Obligation/कार्य)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मृ (धातु) → मर्तव्य (कृदन्त)
• Form: कृत्यप्रत्यय (तव्यत्), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — विधेयविशेषणम्; ‘to be died / must die’

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक/सम्बन्ध) — ‘where’

• सत्यव्रतः: truth-vowed
• सत्यव्रतः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सत्य-व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — विशेषणम्; ‘one whose vow is truth’

• नृपः: the king
• नृपः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन — ‘king’

Speaker

Śiva

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārvatī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The atmosphere tightens: many days have passed; the fated hour arrives when Satyavrata/Satyavān is to die—an ominous stillness over the hermitage.

Characters & Entities

• Satyavrata (nṛpa)
• kāla (appointed time)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kāla (the appointed time) is inexorable; dharma is proven when one meets destiny with truthfulness and spiritual preparedness.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The surrounding discourse is the māhātmya of Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where exemplary stories reinforce the sanctity of the place.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse marks the arrival of the foretold time that prompts vrata and worship in subsequent verses.