Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

चत्वारिंशद्धि लक्षाणि लक्षाणां त्रितयं पुनः । विंशतिश्च सहस्राणि ज्ञेयं सौरं चतुर्युगम्

Transliteration

catvāriṃśaddhi lakṣāṇi lakṣāṇāṃ tritayaṃ punaḥ | viṃśatiśca sahasrāṇi jñeyaṃ sauraṃ caturyugam

Translation

चाळीस लक्ष, पुन्हा तीन लक्ष, आणि वीस हजारही—हे सूर्य-मानानुसार चतुर्युगाचे प्रमाण जाणावे।

Word by Word

• catvāriṃśat: forty
• catvāriṃśat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catvāriṃśat (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्या-विशेषणम्; अव्ययवत् (indeclinable numeral used adjectivally)

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थक

• lakṣāṇi: lakhs (hundred-thousands)
• lakṣāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), बहुवचन

• lakṣāṇām: of lakhs
• lakṣāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• tritayam: a triad; threefold set
• tritayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tritaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• punaḥ: again/further
• punaḥ: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण-अव्यय (adverb)

• viṃśatiḥ: twenty
• viṃśatiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṃśati (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (संख्याशब्द)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• sahasrāṇi: thousands
• sahasrāṇi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), बहुवचन

• jñeyam: is to be known/understood
• jñeyam: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jñā (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (भाव्य/कर्तव्यतार्थक), -य-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• sauram: solar
• sauram: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saura (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• catur-yugam: the four-yuga cycle (caturyuga)
• catur-yugam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: catur (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + yuga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास (चत्वारि युगानि); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya narrator)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A questioning sage/śaunaka-type audience (Māhātmya interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage-teacher points to a cosmic diagram of yugas: concentric circles of time, a radiant Sūrya marking ‘sauram’ measure, with Prabhāsa’s shore-temple silhouette in the distance.

Characters & Entities

• Caturyuga
• Sauramāna (solar measure)
• Kāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Yuga-measures place human history within vast cosmic cycles, encouraging detachment and steadiness in dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching is situated in the Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, connecting pilgrimage narrative with cosmic chronology.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it states the numerical measure of a caturyuga in solar reckoning.