Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 52

Devanagari script

अपि द्वादशधा राजन्नौरसादिसमु द्भवाः । तेषामेकतमोऽप्यत्र न दैवाज्जायते सुतः

Transliteration

api dvādaśadhā rājannaurasādisamu dbhavāḥ | teṣāmekatamo'pyatra na daivājjāyate sutaḥ

Translation

O König, auch wenn man sagt, Söhne entstünden auf zwölf Arten—beginnend mit dem leiblichen (aurasa)—so wird hier nicht einmal einer von ihnen bloß durch das Schicksal (daiva) erlangt.

Word by Word

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि = even/also

• dvādaśadhā: in twelve ways
• dvādaśadhā: Sambandha (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dvādaśa (प्रातिपदिक) + dhā (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (in twelve ways)

• rājan: O king
• rājan: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• aurasādi-samudbhavāḥ: those born as ‘aurasa’ etc. (types of sons)
• aurasādi-samudbhavāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aurasa (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + samudbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (those arising as ‘aurasa’ etc.; kinds of sons)

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• ekatamaḥ: even one (single one)
• ekatamaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ekatama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘one of them’ (superlative/indefinite)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अपि = even

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (here)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय

• daivāt: by fate / from destiny
• daivāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन

• jāyate: is born / arises
• jāyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present); प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• sutaḥ: a son
• sutaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: suta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Unknown (Nāgarakhaṇḍa narrator addressing a king; speaker not explicit in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: rājā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teacher enumerates the twelve types of sons to a king, with symbolic icons (cradle, adoption gesture, ritual fire) indicating different modes of sonship; emphasis on effort over fate.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Progeny and auspicious outcomes are linked to dharma and right action, not to fate alone.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse sits within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya context; the specific tīrtha is not named in this shloka excerpt.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed here; it sets up the need for dharmic acts that follow in subsequent verses.