Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 68

Devanagari script

कस्यचित्त्वथ कालस्य पंचत्वं च समागतः । जातिस्मरस्ततो जातस्तत्प्रभावान्नृपालये

Transliteration

kasyacittvatha kālasya paṃcatvaṃ ca samāgataḥ | jātismarastato jātastatprabhāvānnṛpālaye

Translation

Nach einiger Zeit kam der Tod über mich. Danach wurde ich durch eben jene Kraft in einem königlichen Hause wiedergeboren, mit Erinnerung an mein früheres Leben.

Word by Word

• kasyacit: of some
• kasyacit: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुं, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; अनिश्चितार्थ (indefinite)

• tu: indeed, but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: विरोध/अन्वय-अव्यय (particle: but/indeed)

• atha: then
• atha: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तर/प्रारम्भ-अव्यय (then/now)

• kālasya: of time
• kālasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• paṃcatvam: the state of being five (death; dissolution into five elements)
• paṃcatvam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṃcatva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/कर्म), एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• samāgataḥ: (he) attained, reached
• samāgataḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√gam (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past participle, active sense), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; ‘समागतः’ = has reached/attained

• jāti-smaraḥ: one who remembers past births
• jāti-smaraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jāti (प्रातिपदिक) + smara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (jātiṃ smarati iti)

• tataḥ: thereupon
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम-बोधक (thereupon)

• jātaḥ: was born, became
• jātaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘जाताḥ’ = was born/became

• tat-prabhāvāt: due to its power/effect
• tat-prabhāvāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + prabhāva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/हेतु), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (tasya prabhāvaḥ)

• nṛpa-ālaye: in the king's palace
• nṛpa-ālaye: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛpa (प्रातिपदिक) + ālaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः (nṛpasya ālayaḥ)

Speaker

Baka

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jāgeśvara (as causal tīrtha-devatā)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A transition tableau: the child’s life fades; then a new scene opens in a royal palace where a newborn/young prince has an uncanny, contemplative gaze, as if remembering; faint overlay of the Jāgeśvara-liṅga and ghee pot appears like a memory-vision.

Characters & Entities

• Jātismara
• Royal household (nṛpālaya)
• Death (pañcatva)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Karmic effects persist beyond death; spiritual impressions can grant jātismaratā (past-life memory), reinforcing accountability across lifetimes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse alludes to “that power” from the preceding sacred Śaiva context (Jāgeśvara/Ghṛtakambala stream), indicating tīrtha influence across births.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes doctrinal outcome (rebirth with memory) rather than a practice.