Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 88

Devanagari script

नष्टोत्सवाविधर्माणो नित्यं संकरकारकाः । सार्धहस्तत्रयाः पूर्वं भविष्यंति युगादितः

Transliteration

naṣṭotsavāvidharmāṇo nityaṃ saṃkarakārakāḥ | sārdhahastatrayāḥ pūrvaṃ bhaviṣyaṃti yugāditaḥ

Translation

Wenn die Feste zugrunde gehen und das Dharma verwirrt wird, stets Mischung und Wirrsal stiftend, werden sie seit Beginn des Zeitalters für die Dauer von „dreieinhalb Händen“ bestehen.

Word by Word

• नष्टोत्सवाविधर्माणः: whose festivals are lost and who are irreligious
• नष्टोत्सवाविधर्माणः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नष्ट-उत्सव-अविधर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक; नष्ट + उत्सव + अविधर्मन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (ते/मनुष्याः इत्यर्थे)

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावेन क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: always)

• संकरकारकाः: causing mixture/confusion (of castes etc.)
• संकरकारकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संकर-कारक (प्रातिपदिक; संकर + कारक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• सार्धहस्तत्रयाः: (those) of three and a half cubits (in height)
• सार्धहस्तत्रयाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स-अर्ध-हस्त-त्रय (प्रातिपदिक; स + अर्ध + हस्त + त्रय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; संख्यावाचक-समास; परिमाणवाचक

• पूर्वम्: formerly, earlier
• पूर्वम्: Kriya-visheshana (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb: formerly/at first)

• भविष्यन्ति: will be
• भविष्यन्ति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• युगादितः: from the beginning of the yuga
• युगादितः: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग-आदि (प्रातिपदिक; युग + आदि)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; आरम्भ-अपादान (from the beginning of the age)

Speaker

Unknown (contextual narrator in Nāgarakhaṇḍa; speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A once-vibrant temple festival ground now silent: broken flags, extinguished lamps, scattered flowers; people quarrel and blur social roles; a calendar wheel cracked, marking ominous time.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When communal rites and festivals collapse, social and religious confusion grows—implying the importance of preserving dharmic observances.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single site is named; the verse belongs to a broader tīrtha-mahātmya narrative about Kali-yuga conditions.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription; it references the deterioration of utsavas (festivals) and dharma.