Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

द्वौ पादौ चैव धर्मस्य द्वौ पापस्य व्यवस्थितौ । तत्र स्याद्यौवनं नृणां गते वर्षशतेऽ खिले

Transliteration

dvau pādau caiva dharmasya dvau pāpasya vyavasthitau | tatra syādyauvanaṃ nṛṇāṃ gate varṣaśate' khile

Translation

هناك يثبت ربعان من الدارما وربعان من الإثم. وفي ذلك العصر لا يبلغ الناس سنَّ الشباب إلا بعد انقضاء مئة سنة كاملة.

Word by Word

• द्वौ: two
• द्वौ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; संख्याविशेषण (numeral adjective)

• पादौ: feet/parts (quarters)
• पादौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• धर्मस्य: of dharma
• धर्मस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन (genitive)

• द्वौ: two
• द्वौ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; संख्याविशेषण

• पापस्य: of sin
• पापस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन (genitive)

• व्यवस्थितौ: established/arranged
• व्यवस्थितौ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + अव + स्था (धातु) → व्यवस्थित (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), द्विवचन; ‘स्थित’ = established/placed

• तत्र: there/in that (stage)
• तत्र: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देश/प्रसङ्गवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• स्यात्: would be/should be
• स्यात्: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• यौवनम्: youth
• यौवनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यौवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• नृणाम्: of men/people
• नृणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन (genitive)

• गते: when (it has) passed
• गते: Adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम् (धातु) → गत (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; ‘गते’ = when (it has) gone/passed

• वर्षशते: in a hundred years (at the hundred-year mark)
• वर्षशते: Adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष + शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (वर्षाणां शतम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• अखिले: complete/entire
• अखिले: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अखिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ‘वर्षशते’)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: sura-śreṣṭha (Indra-like addressee implied by vocatives in adjacent verses)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic cosmic tableau: Dharma and Pāpa shown as balanced quarters on a scale; humans depicted with delayed youth, time marked by a hundred-year cycle; a sage narrates to a divine listener.

Characters & Entities

• Skanda
• Dharma
• Pāpa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It teaches that dharma diminishes across ages, with Dvāpara marked by an equal balance of dharma and adharma, affecting human life and conduct.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears in this verse; it provides yuga-characteristics within the māhātmya setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a doctrinal description of yuga conditions.