Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 68

Devanagari script

यत्र षोडशमे वर्षे नराः पलित यौवनाः । तत्र द्वादशमे वर्षे गर्भं धास्यति चांगना

Transliteration

yatra ṣoḍaśame varṣe narāḥ palita yauvanāḥ | tatra dvādaśame varṣe garbhaṃ dhāsyati cāṃganā

Translation

In that age, men will appear old while still in youth at sixteen years; and there, a woman will conceive even at twelve years.

Word by Word

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धबोधक-देशवाचक (relative locative adverb)

• षोडशमे: in the sixteenth
• षोडशमे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षोडश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक/संख्यावाचक विशेषण (in the sixteenth)

• वर्षे: year
• वर्षे: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

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

• पलित: grey-haired
• पलित: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पलित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (केशादि-श्वेतत्ववाचक)

• यौवनाः: (yet) youthful
• यौवनाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यौवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषण (youthful)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक

• द्वादशमे: in the twelfth
• द्वादशमे: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वादश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; क्रमवाचक/संख्यावाचक विशेषण

• वर्षे: year
• वर्षे: Adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन

• गर्भम्: a fetus/pregnancy
• गर्भम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गर्भ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• धास्यति: will conceive/hold (in womb)
• धास्यति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √धा (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• अङ्गना: a woman
• अङ्गना: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अङ्गना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified narrator (within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya dialogue context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A youth with prematurely grey hair and tired eyes; nearby, a young girl with a protective maternal aura—symbolic, not erotic—indicating early conception; the sky carries a Kali-yuga pall.

Characters & Entities

• Kali-yuga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Kali-yuga is marked by diminished vitality and disturbed social rhythms, signaling the need for stronger dharmic restraint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is indicated; the verse continues the general description of Kali-yuga.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it describes symptoms of the age rather than prescribing a rite.