Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 1

Devanagari script

देव्युवाच । यद्येवं सकलश्चंद्रः कथं न विधृतस्त्वया । अन्तभावे कलानां तत्कारणं कथय प्रभो

Transliteration

devyuvāca | yadyevaṃ sakalaścaṃdraḥ kathaṃ na vidhṛtastvayā | antabhāve kalānāṃ tatkāraṇaṃ kathaya prabho

Translation

Devī thưa: Nếu vậy, khi Mặt Trăng vốn trọn vẹn, sao Ngài không giữ lấy trong sự viên mãn? Xin nói cho con, lạy Chúa tể, nguyên do vì sao các kalā (phần) của trăng lại biến mất, suy giảm.

Word by Word

• devī: the Goddess
• devī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Ekavacana

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (Verbal predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: Liṭ-lakāra (Perfect), Prathama-puruṣa (3rd person), Ekavacana, Parasmaipada

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Clause linker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (Conditional particle/शर्तबोधक)

• evam: thus/so
• evam: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (Manner adverb/प्रकारवाचक)

• sakalaḥ: whole/complete
• sakalaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sakala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Ekavacana; qualifies candraḥ

• candraḥ: the moon
• candraḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: candra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Ekavacana

• katham: how
• katham: Sambandha (Interrogative/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (Interrogative adverb/प्रश्नवाचक)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya (Negation particle/निषेध)

• vidhṛtaḥ: held/born (on you)
• vidhṛtaḥ: Kriyā (Verbal predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhṛ (धातु) + vi- (उपसर्ग) + -ta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: Kṛdanta (Past Passive Participle/क्त), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā-vibhakti, Ekavacana; passive sense: 'was held'

• tvayā: by you
• tvayā: Kartṛ (Agent in passive/कर्तृ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (Pronoun), Tṛtīyā-vibhakti (Instrumental/3rd), Ekavacana

• antabhāve: in the disappearance/end-state
• antabhāve: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anta (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Tatpuruṣa-samāsa (antasya bhāvaḥ), Puṃliṅga, Saptamī-vibhakti (Locative/7th), Ekavacana

• kalānām: of the digits/phases
• kalānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī-vibhakti (Genitive/6th), Bahuvacana (Plural)

• tat: that
• tat: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Sarvanāma (Pronoun used adjectivally), Napuṃsakaliṅga, Dvitīyā-vibhakti, Ekavacana; qualifies kāraṇam

• kāraṇam: reason/cause
• kāraṇam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napuṃsakaliṅga, Dvitīyā-vibhakti (Accusative/2nd), Ekavacana

• kathaya: tell
• kathaya: Kriyā (Verbal predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kath (धातु)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (Imperative), Madhyama-puruṣa (2nd person), Ekavacana, Parasmaipada

• prabho: O Lord
• prabho: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prabhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Sambodhana-vibhakti (Vocative), Ekavacana

Speaker

Devī (Pārvatī)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Īśvara

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devī, in reverent curiosity, questions Īśvara about why the Moon, though inherently complete, is not held in perpetual fullness and why its kalās disappear.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Śiva
• Candra
• Kalā (lunar digits/phases)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even sacred symbols invite deeper inquiry: devotees seek not only reverence but understanding of cosmic rhythms and their dharmic meaning.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The question continues within Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya, keeping Prabhāsa as the sacred narrative frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; this verse is a theological question about lunar phases (kalās).