Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

सत्यमेतन्महाभागा दौःस्थ्यं यांति दिनेदिने । जना यथायथा याति युगं श्रेष्ठं च पृष्ठतः

Transliteration

satyametanmahābhāgā dauḥsthyaṃ yāṃti dinedine | janā yathāyathā yāti yugaṃ śreṣṭhaṃ ca pṛṣṭhataḥ

Translation

C’est vérité, ô bienheureux : de jour en jour les êtres tombent dans la détresse. À mesure que les hommes avancent selon leur conduite, l’âge le plus noble recule derrière eux.

Word by Word

• सत्यम्: true
• सत्यम्: Pratijñā/Viśeṣya (Predicate complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; वाक्ये विधेय-नाम (predicate nominal: ‘true’)

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• महाभागाः: O greatly fortunate ones
• महाभागाः: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + भाग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, बहुवचन; बहुव्रीहिः: महान्तो भागा यस्य/येषां ते (O fortunate ones)

• दौःस्थ्यम्: distress/poverty
• दौःस्थ्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दौःस्थ्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• यान्ति: go/come to (reach)
• यान्ति: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √या (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• दिनेदिने: day by day
• दिनेदिने: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दिन + दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास: दिने दिने (day by day); अव्ययवत् प्रयोग

• जनाः: people
• जनाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• यथायथा: as and as/according as
• यथायथा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Manner/Correlation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा + यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, पुनरुक्त-प्रयोग (in whatever way/as and as)

• याति: goes/proceeds
• याति: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √या (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• युगम्: age/era
• युगम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• श्रेष्ठम्: excellent/best
• श्रेष्ठम्: Karma-viśeṣaṇa (Object qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण (of ‘yugam’)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय

• पृष्ठतः: from behind/afterwards
• पृष्ठतः: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Direction/Sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृष्ठतः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, देश/क्रमवाचक (from behind/afterwards)

Speaker

Prāpitāmaha (addressing the Pitṛs)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pitṛ-gaṇas; Mahārāja as recipient of narration

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Prāpitāmaha soberly acknowledges: beings sink into hardship day by day; the ‘best age’ recedes. A contemplative, time-worn atmosphere—like a moral sunset.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛgaṇa
• Prāpitāmaha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When dharma weakens, suffering increases; remembrance of sacred duties (like honoring Pitṛs) becomes even more essential.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it frames the broader Mahātmya discussion about dharma and ancestral rites.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is prescribed here; it prepares the rationale for the Amāvāsyā śrāddha instruction that follows.