Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

तत्र षोडशसाहस्रं बालत्वं जायते नृणाम् । ततश्च यौवनं प्रोक्तं द्वात्रिंशद्यावदेव हि

Transliteration

tatra ṣoḍaśasāhasraṃ bālatvaṃ jāyate nṛṇām | tataśca yauvanaṃ proktaṃ dvātriṃśadyāvadeva hi

Translation

Dort währt die Kindheit der Menschen sechzehntausend Jahre. Danach, so heißt es, reicht die Jugend bis zu zweiunddreißigtausend Jahren.

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• ṣoḍaśa-sāhasram: sixteen thousand (years)
• ṣoḍaśa-sāhasram: Karma (Object/Extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣoḍaśa + sāhasra (प्रातिपदिक; षोडश + साहस्र)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक-समास; कालपरिमाणार्थे (as measure of years)

• bālatvam: childhood
• bālatvam: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bālatva (प्रातिपदिक; -त्व प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• jāyate: arises; is born
• jāyate: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; भावे/कर्मणि प्रयोगः—'is born/arises'

• nṛṇām: of men; of humans
• nṛṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• tataḥ: then; thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्-अर्थे (ablative adverb: 'then/from that')

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• yauvanam: youth
• yauvanam: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yauvana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• proktam: is said; is declared
• proktam: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa / Predicate
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle)

• dvātriṃśat: thirty-two
• dvātriṃśat: Karma (Measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvātriṃśat (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (संख्याशब्दः), प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; संख्यावाचक (32)

• yāvat: up to; as long as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Limit)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय/सम्बन्ध)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण-सीमाबोधक (up to/as far as)

• eva: indeed; just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphasis)

• hi: indeed; for
• hi: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थ निपात (particle: for/indeed)

Speaker

Bṛhaspati

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic depiction of time in the sacred land: children and youths with serene faces, growing slowly under auspicious trees; a calendrical or cosmic motif (sun-moon) indicating expanded lifespan.

Characters & Entities

• Bṛhaspati

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas portray yuga-differences not only in morality but also in the scale of human lifespan and vitality.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; it is a yuga-description rather than a site-specific tīrtha praise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it provides a descriptive measure of life stages.