Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

ततः षोडशमे वर्षे नराः पलितयौवनाः । शौचाचारपरित्यक्ता निजकार्यपरास्तथा

Transliteration

tataḥ ṣoḍaśame varṣe narāḥ palitayauvanāḥ | śaucācāraparityaktā nijakāryaparāstathā

Translation

Dann, im sechzehnten Jahr, werden Männer selbst in der Jugend gealtert erscheinen; Reinheit und rechte Lebensführung verlassend, werden sie nur auf das Eigene bedacht sein.

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb; अर्थे: अनन्तरम्/तस्मात् = thereafter/from that

• षोडशमे: in the sixteenth
• षोडशमे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣoḍaśa (संख्यावाचक-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक-विशेषण = ordinal adjective

• वर्षे: year
• वर्षे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• नराः: men/people
• नराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• पलितयौवनाः: grey-haired in youth / prematurely aged
• पलितयौवनाः: Visheshana (Adjectival to subject/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: palita (प्रातिपदिक) + yauvana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय-समास (पलितं च तत् यौवनं च/पलितं यौवनं यस्य) = having grey(-haired) youth/grey in youth

• शौचाचारपरित्यक्ताः: having abandoned purity and proper conduct
• शौचाचारपरित्यक्ताः: Visheshana (Adjectival to subject/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śauca (प्रातिपदिक) + ācāra (प्रातिपदिक) + parityakta (कृदन्त; √tyaj त्यज्, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि/भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle) = abandoned; तत्पुरुष-समास: शौचाचारौ परित्यक्तौ येषाम्/शौचाचारं परित्यक्ताः

• निजकार्यपराः: intent on their own work/self-interest
• निजकार्यपराः: Visheshana (Adjectival to subject/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nija (प्रातिपदिक) + kārya (प्रातिपदिक) + para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास: निजकार्ये पराः = devoted to their own affairs

• तथा: thus/likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable; अर्थे: एवं/अपि = thus/also

Speaker

Unspecified (Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; deduced as a narrator describing Kali-yuga signs)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Young men with prematurely gray hair, neglecting ablutions; broken water-pot and abandoned kuśa; in contrast, a pilgrim at a river-ghāṭ performing snāna and ācamana.

Characters & Entities

• Kali-yuga
• śauca
• ācāra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It highlights that neglect of purity and conduct leads to inner deterioration; dharma requires śauca (cleanliness) and ācāra (right practice).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No particular tīrtha is mentioned in this shloka.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; the verse stresses ethical disciplines (śauca and ācāra).