Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

मनुष्याणां च वर्षाणि लक्षासप्तदशैव तु । अष्टाविंशतिसहस्राणि कृतं त्रेतायुगं ततः

Transliteration

manuṣyāṇāṃ ca varṣāṇi lakṣāsaptadaśaiva tu | aṣṭāviṃśatisahasrāṇi kṛtaṃ tretāyugaṃ tataḥ

Translation

In Menschenjahren bilden siebzehn Lakhs und achtundzwanzigtausend das Kṛta‑ (Satya‑)Zeitalter; danach folgt das Tretā‑yuga.

Word by Word

• मनुष्याणाम्: of humans
• मनुष्याणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Genitive plural (of humans)

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

• वर्षाणि: years
• वर्षाणि: Karta/Pradhāna (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; here as count-object with implied 'are' (years)

• लक्षासप्तदश: seventeen lakhs
• लक्षासप्तदश: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लक्ष + सप्तदश (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्यावाचक-विशेषण; तत्पुरुष (लक्षाणि सप्तदश) used as numeral qualifier; agrees with वर्षाणि (n. pl.) by sense

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha/Emphasis
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (emphasis)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha/Discourse
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/विशेषार्थक-निपात (but/indeed)

• अष्टाविंशतिसहस्राणि: twenty-eight thousand
• अष्टाविंशतिसहस्राणि: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टाविंशति + सहस्र (संख्याप्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; संख्या-तत्पुरुष (अष्टाविंशतेः सहस्राणि) qualifying an implied 'years'

• कृतम्: Kṛta (Satya) [yuga]
• कृतम्: Karta/Pradhāna (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु) + त (कृत्) → कृत (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; used as name of yuga (Kṛta)

• त्रेतायुगम्: the Tretā yuga
• त्रेतायुगम्: Karma/Pradhāna (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रेता + युग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (त्रेता-नामकं युगम्)

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Adhikaraṇa (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, क्रम/अनन्तरार्थक (thereafter/then)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) (deduced from Māheśvara-khaṇḍa narrative convention)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A four-panel cosmic timeline beginning with Kṛta-yuga: luminous, orderly world; a celestial scribe inscribing ‘17 lakhs 28 thousand’ on a palm-leaf; transition arrow toward Tretā.

Characters & Entities

• Kṛta-yuga
• Tretā-yuga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma unfolds across vast yuga cycles; remembering their scale encourages detachment and reverence for divine order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is mentioned; the verse is a doctrinal statement on yuga chronology.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it provides time-measure background often cited when explaining the decline of Dharma across yugas.