Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

अमादिपौर्णमास्यंता या एव शशिनः कलाः । तिथयस्ताः समाख्याताः षोडशैव प्रकीर्तिताः

Transliteration

amādipaurṇamāsyaṃtā yā eva śaśinaḥ kalāḥ | tithayastāḥ samākhyātāḥ ṣoḍaśaiva prakīrtitāḥ

Translation

اما (نئی چاند) سے لے کر پُورنماسی (پورے چاند) کے انت تک—چاند کی وہی کلائیں ‘تِتھیاں’ کہلاتی ہیں؛ اور انہیں ٹھیک سولہ ہی کہا گیا ہے۔

Word by Word

• amādi-paurṇamāsī-antāḥ: beginning with new-moon and ending with full-moon
• amādi-paurṇamāsī-antāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: amā (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + paurṇamāsī (प्रातिपदिक) + anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa-samāsa (amā-ādi ... paurṇamāsī-antāḥ: 'beginning with amā and ending with paurṇamāsī'), Strīliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Bahuvacana; qualifies kalāḥ

• yāḥ: which
• yāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Relative pronoun, Strīliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Bahuvacana

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (Emphatic particle/अवधारण)

• śaśinaḥ: of the moon
• śaśinaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śaśin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī-vibhakti, Ekavacana

• kalāḥ: digits/phases
• kalāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Bahuvacana

• tithayaḥ: lunar days (tithis)
• tithayaḥ: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Apposition/समनाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tithi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Bahuvacana

• tāḥ: those
• tāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Demonstrative pronoun, Strīliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Bahuvacana; refers to kalāḥ/tithayaḥ

• samākhyātāḥ: are named/called
• samākhyātāḥ: Kriyā (Verbal predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: khyā (धातु) + sam- (उपसर्ग) + ā- (उपसर्ग) + -ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kṛdanta (Past Passive Participle/क्त), Strīliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Bahuvacana; predicative: 'are called'

• ṣoḍaśa: sixteen
• ṣoḍaśa: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣoḍaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Numeral used adjectivally, (agreeing with tāḥ) Strīliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Bahuvacana (indeclinable-like numeral usage)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (Emphatic particle/अवधारण)

• prakīrtitāḥ: are proclaimed
• prakīrtitāḥ: Kriyā (Verbal predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kīrt (धातु) + pra- (उपसर्ग) + -ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kṛdanta (Past Passive Participle/क्त), Strīliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Bahuvacana; predicative: 'are proclaimed'

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Īśvara enumerates: the Moon’s phases from Amā to Paurṇamāsī are called tithis, exactly sixteen in number.

Characters & Entities

• Amā
• Paurṇamāsī
• Śaśin (Moon)
• Tithi
• Kalā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred time is mapped onto the Moon’s kalās; observing tithis aligns human life with cosmic rhythm.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra is the narrative setting; the Māhātmya presents it as a place where dharma of time-observance is illuminated.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, it supports tithi-based observances (vratas, pūjā timing), but no single rite is specified in this verse.