Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

षण्मासमयने भुंक्ते त्रीन्मासान्विषुवे स्मृतम् । वर्षैर्द्वादशभिश्चैव यत्पुण्यं समुपार्जितम् । तत्सर्वं विलयं याति भुक्त्वा सूर्येन्दुसंप्लवे

Transliteration

ṣaṇmāsamayane bhuṃkte trīnmāsānviṣuve smṛtam | varṣairdvādaśabhiścaiva yatpuṇyaṃ samupārjitam | tatsarvaṃ vilayaṃ yāti bhuktvā sūryendusaṃplave

Translation

Se alguém come no ayana (viragem solsticial), diz-se que consome o mérito de seis meses; no viṣuva (equinócio), o de três meses. E todo o mérito acumulado ao longo de doze anos—ao comer durante um eclipse solar ou lunar—é totalmente destruído.

Word by Word

• ṣaṇmāsa-mayane: at the six-month solstice period
• ṣaṇmāsa-mayane: Adhikarana (Time locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṭ + māsa + ayana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (ayana-); सप्तमी (7th/locative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (ṣaṇmāsasya ayanam)

• bhuṃkte: eats/enjoys
• bhuṃkte: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhuj (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• trīn: three
• trīn: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), बहुवचन; संख्या-विशेषण

• māsān: months
• māsān: Karma (Extent/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), बहुवचन

• viṣuve: at the equinox
• viṣuve: Adhikarana (Time locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣu (प्रातिपदिक; viṣuva)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/locative), एकवचन

• smṛtam: is stated/remembered
• smṛtam: Kriya (Implied predicate/क्रिया-भाव)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: smṛta (कृदन्त; √smṛ धातु)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (elliptic: ‘is said/remembered’)

• varṣaiḥ: by years
• varṣaiḥ: Karana (Measure/instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/instrumental), बहुवचन

• dvādaśabhiḥ: twelve
• dvādaśabhiḥ: Karana (Measure/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvādaśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तृतीया (3rd/instrumental), बहुवचन; संख्या-विशेषण (agreeing with varṣaiḥ)

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

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic: just/indeed)

• yat: whatever/that which
• yat: Karma (Relative object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (relative)

• puṇyam: merit
• puṇyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• samupārjitam: accumulated/earned
• samupārjitam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-upa-ārjita (कृदन्त; sam+upa+√arj धातु)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (qualifies puṇyam)

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• sarvam: all
• sarvam: Karma (Object qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; (qualifies tat)

• vilayam: to dissolution/destruction
• vilayam: Gati (Goal/गति-कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vilaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (2nd/accusative), एकवचन

• yāti: goes/comes to
• yāti: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• bhuktvā: having eaten
• bhuktvā: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √bhuj (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund): having eaten

• sūrya-indu-saṃplave: at the solar-lunar eclipse/conjunction
• sūrya-indu-saṃplave: Adhikarana (Time/event locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūrya + indu + saṃplava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/locative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (sūryendvoḥ saṃplavaḥ)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced: Prabhāsa-khaṇḍa narrative style within Māhātmya sections)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pilgrimage audience seeking niyamas

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A coastal temple town under an eclipse: sun and moon overlapped; pilgrims stand in snāna and japa while a cautionary figure turns away from food; a symbolic heap of ‘merit’ dissolves into mist when eating occurs at grahaṇa.

Characters & Entities

• Sūrya
• Indu (Candra)
• Ayana
• Viṣuva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Times of cosmic transition (ayana, viṣuva, eclipse) demand restraint; heedlessness can destroy long-earned puṇya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra is the broader sacred setting; the verse frames dharma-rules relevant to its Māhātmya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A prohibition/strong warning against eating at ayana, viṣuva, and especially during eclipses.