Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

यदैव दृश्यते तत्र नदी चित्रपथा प्रिये । प्रमाणं दर्शनं तस्या न कालस्तत्र कारणम्

Transliteration

yadaiva dṛśyate tatra nadī citrapathā priye | pramāṇaṃ darśanaṃ tasyā na kālastatra kāraṇam

Translation

โอ้ที่รัก เมื่อใดก็ตามที่ได้เห็นแม่น้ำจิตราปถาที่นั่น การได้เห็นนั้นเองเป็นหลักฐานชี้ขาด; กาลเวลาไม่ใช่เหตุหรือเงื่อนไขที่นั่น

Word by Word

• यदा: when
• यदा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्ययम् (relative adverb: when)

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

• दृश्यते: is seen / appears
• दृश्यते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (Present), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्; आत्मनेपदम्; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगः—‘is seen/appears’

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Place/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम् (there)

• नदी: the river
• नदी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• चित्रपथा: (the river) Citrapathā
• चित्रपथा: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चित्र + पथा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः—चित्रा पथा यस्याः सा (कर्मधारयः: ‘having a wondrous course/track’ as name/epithet)

• प्रिये: O dear one
• प्रिये: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, सम्बोधन-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (addressing the beloved/goddess)

• प्रमाणम्: the criterion, the proof
• प्रमाणम्: Pradhana (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रमाण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विधेय (predicate nominative)

• दर्शनम्: the sight (of it)
• दर्शनम्: Pradhana (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘प्रमाणम्’ इत्यस्य समानाधिकरणम्

• तस्याः: of that (river), her
• तस्याः: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्गे, षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (Genitive/6th), एकवचनम्

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्ययम् (negation)

• कालः: time
• कालः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Place/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्ययम्

• कारणम्: cause
• कारणम्: Pradhana (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कारण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, प्रथमा-विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; विधेय (predicate) — ‘is the cause’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Citrāpathā-nadī

Type: ghat

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: priye (beloved interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The river Citrāpathā appears as a radiant ribbon; a devotee beholds it, and the composition emphasizes ‘seeing’—eyes uplifted, hands folded—while a caption-like gesture indicates ‘kāla is not the cause’.

Characters & Entities

• Citrāpathā (river)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Divine grace is not bound by calendrical calculations; direct encounter (darśana) with a sacred manifestation is itself transformative.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Citrāpathā river-tīrtha in Prabhāsa Kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Seek the river when it appears; its darśana itself is affirmed as the validating condition, rather than auspicious timing.