Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 10

Devanagari script

अनेनैव तु मानेन मानवेन द्विजोत्तमाः । लक्षैः सप्तदशाख्यैस्तु वत्सराणां प्रकीर्तितम्

Transliteration

anenaiva tu mānena mānavena dvijottamāḥ | lakṣaiḥ saptadaśākhyaistu vatsarāṇāṃ prakīrtitam

Translation

Nach eben diesem menschlichen Maß, o Beste der Dvija (Zweimalgeborenen), wird die Zahl der Jahre als siebzehn Lakhs verkündet.

Word by Word

• anena: by this
• anena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया, एकवचन

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण/विरोध-अव्यय

• mānena: by the measure/standard
• mānena: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया, एकवचन

• mānavena: human (pertaining to humans)
• mānavena: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (mānena)

• dvija-uttamāḥ: O best of the twice-born
• dvija-uttamāḥ: Sambodhana/Address (Vocative sense/सम्बोधनार्थ)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास (उत्तमाः द्विजाः); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• lakṣaiḥ: by lakhs (hundred-thousands)
• lakṣaiḥ: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: lakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया, बहुवचन

• saptadaśa-ākhyaiḥ: named as seventeen (i.e., seventeen in number)
• saptadaśa-ākhyaiḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: saptadaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + ākhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (सप्तदश इति आख्या येषाम्); नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया, बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (lakṣaiḥ)

• tu: indeed
• tu: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय

• vatsarāṇām: of years
• vatsarāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vatsara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• prakīrtitam: is proclaimed/stated
• prakīrtitam: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra-kīrt (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: कृत (क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे ‘प्रकीर्तितम्’ (it is stated)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narration style)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijoत्तमāḥ (addressed)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage enumerates vast year-counts to a circle of brāhmaṇas; behind them, a symbolic backdrop of turning wheels (kāla-cakra) and layered yugas.

Characters & Entities

• Dvija

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas frame dharma within vast cycles of time, reminding seekers that cosmic order (ṛta) operates on scales beyond ordinary life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it supports the broader Māhātmya narrative with cosmic time context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse provides kāla-māna (time-reckoning) rather than a rite.