Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

कदाचित्समनुप्राप्ते दुर्भिक्षे कालपर्ययात् । ऋषयश्च महादेवि क्षुधाक्रान्ता विचेतसः

Transliteration

kadācitsamanuprāpte durbhikṣe kālaparyayāt | ṛṣayaśca mahādevi kṣudhākrāntā vicetasaḥ

Translation

有一次，由于时运变迁，饥荒降临；诸位仙圣啊，大女神，他们被饥饿所迫，心神忧苦而迷惘。

Word by Word

• कदाचित्: once; at some time
• कदाचित्: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कदाचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (at some time)

• समनुप्राप्ते: when (it) had arrived; upon the occurrence
• समनुप्राप्ते: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-अनु-प्र-आप् (धातु)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त-प्रत्यय, PPP); सप्तमी, एकवचन; नपुंसक/पुं-सम्भाव्य (locative absolute sense)

• दुर्भिक्षे: in famine
• दुर्भिक्षे: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्भिक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (loc sg)

• कालपर्ययात्: due to the change of time
• कालपर्ययात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल-पर्यय (प्रातिपदिक; काल + पर्यय)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास; पुल्लिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन (abl sg)

• ऋषयः: sages
• ऋषयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (nom pl)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• महादेवि: O great goddess
• महादेवि: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास; स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• क्षुधाक्रान्ताः: overcome by hunger
• क्षुधाक्रान्ताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षुधा-आक्रान्त (प्रातिपदिक; क्षुधा + आक्रान्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (तृतीया: क्षुधया आक्रान्ताः); कृदन्त (क्त, PPP); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (agreeing with ऋषयः)

• विचेतसः: bewildered; senseless
• विचेतसः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-चेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (nom pl; ‘without sense’)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Mahādevī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bleak famine scene: parched land, empty granaries; a group of sages, thin and weary, move with difficulty, faces drawn by hunger and confusion.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛṣis (sages)
• Mahādevī (Pārvatī)
• Kāla (time)
• Durbhikṣa (famine)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even sages face worldly trials; dharma is revealed through responses to crisis and scarcity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sets the narrative context that will culminate in the Māhātmya of Akṣamāleśvara in Prabhāsa-kṣetra.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes the onset of famine and the sages’ hardship.