Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 30

Devanagari script

ततस्त्रेतायुगं नाम द्वितीयं संप्रवर्तते । वर्षाणां षण्णवत्याढ्या लक्षा द्वादश संख्यया

Transliteration

tatastretāyugaṃ nāma dvitīyaṃ saṃpravartate | varṣāṇāṃ ṣaṇṇavatyāḍhyā lakṣā dvādaśa saṃkhyayā

Translation

Ensuite s’ouvre le second âge, nommé Tretā Yuga, d’une durée de douze lakṣas d’années, augmentée encore de quatre-vingt-seize mille.

Word by Word

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Sambandha/Adhikarana (contextual connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable adverb): तस्मात्/अनन्तरम् (thereafter)

• त्रेतायुगम्: the Tretā age
• त्रेतायुगम्: Karma (object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रेता + युग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (त्रेतायाः युगम्)

• नाम: named/indeed
• नाम: Sambandha (appositive marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle): नाम (indeed/so-called)

• द्वितीयम्: second
• द्वितीयम्: Visheshana (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वितीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying त्रेतायुगम्)

• संप्रवर्तते: begins/comes into operation
• संप्रवर्तते: Kriya (predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र√वृत् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्; उपसर्गः सम्+प्र

• वर्षाणाम्: of years
• वर्षाणाम्: Sambandha (genitive: of years)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/genitive), बहुवचन

• षण्णवति: ninety-six
• षण्णवति: Visheshana (numerical qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षण्णवति (प्रातिपदिक, संख्या)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्याशब्दः; अत्र समासपूर्वपदम् (96)

• आढ्याः: endowed with/amounting to
• आढ्याः: Visheshana (qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आढ्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; विशेषणम् (लक्षाः)

• लक्षाः: lakhs (hundred-thousands)
• लक्षाः: Karta (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन

• द्वादश: twelve
• द्वादश: Visheshana (numerical qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वादश (प्रातिपदिक, संख्या)
• Form: संख्याशब्दः (indeclinable-like numeral); अत्र विशेषणम् (संख्यया)

• संख्यया: by number/count
• संख्यया: Karana (instrument: by count)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संख्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/instrumental), एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (continuing address to Indra implied from prior verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage narrates the turning of the yuga-wheel; behind him a cosmic mandala shows four ages with diminishing pillars of dharma, and a kalachakra (wheel of time) inscribed with numbers.

Characters & Entities

• Tretāyuga

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma situates human life within vast cosmic cycles; understanding yuga change frames moral decline and the need for sacred supports like tīrthas.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is chronological (yuga-count) within the Tīrthamāhātmya narrative and does not identify a specific tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse provides a Purāṇic measure of time for Tretā Yuga.