Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

एतस्मिन्नेव काले तु भगवांस्तीक्ष्णदीधितिः । अस्तं गतो न संप्राप्ता नंदिनी मुनिसत्तमाः

Transliteration

etasminneva kāle tu bhagavāṃstīkṣṇadīdhitiḥ | astaṃ gato na saṃprāptā naṃdinī munisattamāḥ

Translation

ਉਸੇ ਵੇਲੇ ਤੀਖਣ ਕਿਰਣਾਂ ਵਾਲੇ ਭਗਵਾਨ ਸੂਰਜ ਅਸਤ ਹੋ ਗਏ; ਪਰ, ਹੇ ਮੁਨਿਸੱਤਮੋ, ਨੰਦਿਨੀ ਹਾਲੇ ਤੱਕ ਵਾਪਸ ਨਾ ਆਈ।

Word by Word

• एतस्मिन्: in this
• एतस्मिन्: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘in this’

• एव: just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपातः (restrictive particle ‘just/only’)

• काले: at the time
• काले: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘at (that) time’

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषणार्थक-निपातः (particle ‘but/indeed’)

• भगवान्: the Lord (Sun)
• भगवान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; ‘the blessed one’ (here: the Sun)

• तीक्ष्णदीधितिः: sharp-rayed
• तीक्ष्णदीधितिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीक्ष्ण + दीधिति (प्रातिपदिकौ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (tīkṣṇa-dīdhiti: ‘sharp-rayed’)

• अस्तम्: to the setting (west)
• अस्तम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; ‘to setting (place)’

• गतः: gone
• गतः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √गम् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकाले कर्तरि क्त (past active participle: ‘gone’)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्ययम् (negation ‘not’)

• संप्राप्ता: arrived
• संप्राप्ता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + √प्राप् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकाले कर्तरि क्त (past active participle: ‘arrived’)

• नन्दिनी: Nandinī
• नन्दिनी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्दिनी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नाम (proper name)

• मुनिसत्तमाः: O best sages
• मुनिसत्तमाः: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि + सत्तम (प्रातिपदिकौ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; (muni-sattama) ‘best of sages’—सम्बोधनार्थे प्रथमा-बहुवचन-प्रयोगः (vocative sense)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced, Purāṇic narration style within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Arbuda-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The sun has just set; the sky is twilight-purple. The hermitage grows quiet, but the cow has not returned, creating a tense stillness around the sage’s āśrama.

Characters & Entities

• Sūrya
• Nandinī
• Muni

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma in āśrama life includes vigilance and responsibility toward dependents; negligence becomes a cause of anxiety and corrective action.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Arbuda Khaṇḍa context situates the narrative in the Arbuda (Mount Abu) sacred region within the Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa’s pilgrimage geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription here; the verse sets the scene by noting sunset and Nandinī’s non-return, leading into ritual concern.