Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

यावद्वर्षसहस्रांते चर्मास्थि स्नायुरेव च । धातुत्रयं स्थितं तस्य नष्टमन्यच्चतुष्टयम्

Transliteration

yāvadvarṣasahasrāṃte carmāsthi snāyureva ca | dhātutrayaṃ sthitaṃ tasya naṣṭamanyaccatuṣṭayam

Translation

Au terme de mille ans, il ne demeura que la peau, l’os et les tendons ; trois constituants du corps subsistaient en lui, tandis que les quatre autres avaient péri.

Word by Word

• yāvat: until
• yāvat: Adhikaraṇa (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable): 'until/as long as'

• varṣa-sahasra-ante: at the end of a thousand years
• varṣa-sahasra-ante: Adhikaraṇa (Temporal/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक) + anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः: 'वर्षसहस्रस्य अन्ते' = 'at the end of a thousand years'

• carma: skin
• carma: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: carma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (समुच्चित-कर्ता)

• asthi: bone
• asthi: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asthi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (समुच्चित-कर्ता)

• snāyuḥ: sinew
• snāyuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāyu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (समुच्चित-कर्ता)

• eva: indeed, only
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle/emphasis): 'indeed/only'

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (conjunction): 'and'

• dhātu-trayam: the three elements
• dhātu-trayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhātu (प्रातिपदिक) + traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः: 'त्रयो धातवः' = 'the three constituents'

• sthitam: remained
• sthitam: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त (past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (dhātu-trayam-विशेषण) 'remaining'

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; pronoun 'of him/its'

• naṣṭam: was destroyed
• naṣṭam: Karta (Predicate adjective/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √naś (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकृदन्त, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (anyaḥ catuṣṭayam-विशेषण) 'destroyed'

• anyat: the other
• anyat: Karta (Subject qualifier/कर्तृविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; (catuṣṭayam-विशेषण) 'other'

• catuṣṭayam: the group of four
• catuṣṭayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: catuṣṭaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन; 'a set of four'

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: After ages, Andhaka’s form is reduced to remnants—skin, bone, sinew—emphasizing the relentless passage of time and the inevitability of decay even for the mighty.

Characters & Entities

• Andhaka (Daitya)
• Śiva (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even prolonged power cannot prevent bodily decline; time humbles arrogance and turns one toward surrender.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it supports the broader tīrtha-mahātmya narrative arc.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse focuses on the demon’s physical depletion.