Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 87

Devanagari script

यावत्कल्पशतं तावज्जरामरणवर्जि ते । अद्यापि गगने ते च दृश्येते तारकात्मके

Transliteration

yāvatkalpaśataṃ tāvajjarāmaraṇavarji te | adyāpi gagane te ca dṛśyete tārakātmake

Translation

طوال مئة كَلْبَة كانوا منزَّهين عن الشيخوخة والموت. وحتى اليوم يُرَون في السماء، متجلّين في هيئة نجوم.

Word by Word

• yāvat: as long as; up to
• yāvat: Sambandha (relation/limit)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (प्रातिपदिक/अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (सम्बन्ध/परिमाण-निर्देशक), ‘यावत्’ = as long as / up to

• kalpa-śatam: a hundred kalpas
• kalpa-śatam: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (time extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kalpa (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (कल्पानां शतम्) = a hundred (of) kalpas

• tāvat: so long; for that long
• tāvat: Sambandha (correlative to yāvat)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tāvat (प्रातिपदिक/अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (परिमाण-निर्देशक), ‘तावत्’ = so long; for that duration

• jarā-maraṇa-varji: free from old age and death
• jarā-maraṇa-varji: Viśeṣaṇa (predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jarā (प्रातिपदिक) + maraṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + varjin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; नञ्-रहितः, उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (जरामरणयोः वर्जितः) = free from old age and death; संबोधन/विशेषण-रूपेण

• te: to you
• te: Sampradāna (to you)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, चतुर्थी/षष्ठी एकवचन (ते) = to you / of you; अत्र सम्बोधनार्थे/सम्बन्धे

• adyāpi: even today; still
• adyāpi: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: adya (अव्यय) + api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक + अव्यय-निपात), ‘अद्यापि’ = even today; still now

• gagane: in the sky
• gagane: Adhikaraṇa (location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gagana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन = in the sky

• te: they
• te: Karta (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा द्विवचन/बहुवचन (ते) = they/those; कर्तृपद

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय-निपात) = and

• dṛśyete: are seen; appear
• dṛśyete: Kriyā (verbal predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमा पुरुष, द्विवचन = are seen (the two are visible)

• tāraka-ātmake: in star-form; as stars
• tāraka-ātmake: Viśeṣaṇa (of location/appearance)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāraka (प्रातिपदिक) + ātmaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष-भावः (तारकरूपे) = in star-like form; ‘गगने’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Tīrtha-yugma (paired tīrthas)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A night sky where two radiant star-forms are distinctly visible; below, a sacred landscape hints at a paired tīrtha. The stars are portrayed as sanctified beings, luminous and serene, suggesting freedom from decay and death for vast cosmic durations.

Characters & Entities

• Kalpa
• Stars (tāraka)
• Two friends (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Devotion and austerity at a sanctified place can yield extraordinary, cosmic remembrance—symbolized by transformation into star-like forms.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The tīrthayugma of Nāgarakhaṇḍa Adhyāya 198, whose legend culminates in the devotees’ enduring celestial visibility.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No new rite is prescribed here; it states the lasting fruit (phala) associated with the devotees linked to the tīrtha.