Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

ततः कालेन मे मृत्युः संजातोऽत्रैव मंदिरे । तत्प्रभावेण संजातो राजा जातिस्मरोऽत्र हि

Transliteration

tataḥ kālena me mṛtyuḥ saṃjāto'traiva maṃdire | tatprabhāveṇa saṃjāto rājā jātismaro'tra hi

Translation

Dann, als die Zeit verging, starb ich hier selbst, in diesem Tempel. Durch seine Kraft wurde ich an eben diesem Ort als König wiedergeboren, begabt mit der Erinnerung an mein früheres Leben.

Word by Word

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्थान/क्रमवाचक (indeclinable adverb: ‘thereafter/from that’)

• कालेन: by time, in course of time
• कालेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; instrumental ‘by/with time’

• मे: my
• मे: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; enclitic genitive ‘of me/my’

• मृत्युः: death
• मृत्युः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• संजातः: arose, occurred
• संजातः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+जन् (धातु) → संजात (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; predicate participle ‘arisen/occurred’

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (indeclinable adverb: ‘here’)

• एव: indeed, just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (particle of emphasis)

• मंदिरे: in the temple
• मंदिरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्दिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• तत्-प्रभावेण: by the power of that
• तत्-प्रभावेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + प्रभाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ‘by the power of that’

• संजातः: was born/arose
• संजातः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+जन् (धातु) → संजात (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; predicate participle

• राजा: a king
• राजा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• जाति-स्मरः: remembering former births
• जाति-स्मरः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जाति (प्रातिपदिक) + स्मर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ‘one who remembers (his) birth/previous life’

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle: indeed/for)

Speaker

Rājā

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas (dvija-śreṣṭhas) present with the king

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inside a sanctum precinct: a devotee’s death occurring within the temple, followed by a symbolic rebirth as a crowned king in the same sacred locale; subtle aura of Devī-śakti linking the two lives.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Mandira (temple)
• Jātismara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic sacred geography teaches that the power of a holy shrine and its worship can shape rebirth, status, and even remembrance of past lives.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Devī’s temple site (mandira/āyatana) in Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; the verse emphasizes the site’s prabhāva (inherent potency).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not a direct prescription; it states the result (phala) attributed to the place and the implied pradakṣiṇā performed there.