Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 53

Devanagari script

ततोऽहं जरया ग्रस्तो वैराग्यं परमं गतः । समायातोऽत्र विप्रेंद्र भ्रममाण इतस्ततः

Transliteration

tato'haṃ jarayā grasto vairāgyaṃ paramaṃ gataḥ | samāyāto'tra vipreṃdra bhramamāṇa itastataḥ

Translation

Alors, accablé par la vieillesse, j’atteignis le renoncement suprême ; errant çà et là, ô meilleur des brāhmaṇas, j’arrivai enfin en ce lieu.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) = indeclinable adverb; अर्थे: तस्मात्/ततः (thereupon)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/स्त्रीलिङ्ग (common), प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम = pronoun

• jarayā: by old age
• jarayā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jarā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन; करण/हेतु-भावः (instrument/cause)

• grastaḥ: seized, afflicted
• grastaḥ: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gras (धातु) + kta (क्त) → grasta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying aham)

• vairāgyam: dispassion, renunciation
• vairāgyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vairāgya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन; कर्म (object)

• paramam: supreme
• paramam: Karma (Object-qualifier/कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: parama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of vairāgyam)

• gataḥ: attained, reached
• gataḥ: Karta (Predicate/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gam (धातु) + kta (क्त) → gata (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP) प्रयुक्तः; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्रियापदवत्—‘गतः’ = has attained

• samāyātaḥ: came, arrived
• samāyātaḥ: Karta (Predicate/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam-ā-√yā (या, धातु) + kta (क्त) → samāyāta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (PPP); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; क्रियापदवत्—‘समायातः’ = has come

• atra: here
• atra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atra (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण) = locative adverb

• vipra-indra: O best of Brahmins
• vipra-indra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारयार्थे ‘विप्राणाम् इन्द्रः’ = best of Brahmins; पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th case), एकवचन

• bhramamāṇaḥ: wandering
• bhramamāṇaḥ: Karta (Subject-qualifier/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhram (धातु) + śatṛ (शतृ) → bhramamāṇa (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present active participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (of aham)

• itaḥ: from here
• itaḥ: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: itas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (अपादानार्थक/दिशावाचक) = from here

• tataḥ: from there
• tataḥ: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (अपादानार्थक/दिशावाचक) = from there

Speaker

Unspecified (same repentant former king speaking)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: viprendra (best of brāhmaṇas)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An aged pilgrim, leaning on a staff, dust of travel on his body, arrives at a serene waterbody/tīrtha; a learned brāhmaṇa is addressed as witness; the landscape suggests Gujarat sacred geography with trees, steps, and a calm shore.

Characters & Entities

• viprendra (addressed sage)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Suffering and aging can mature into vairāgya, which naturally leads one toward tīrthas and spiritual renewal.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse indicates “this place” (atra), preparing for the explicit praise of the local sacred water in the next verses.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it frames the pilgrim’s approach to the tīrtha where snāna will occur.