Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

ततश्च द्वापरं भावि तृतीयं द्विजसत्तमाः । द्वौ पादौ तत्र पापस्य द्वौ च धर्मस्य संस्थितौ । भगवान्वासुदेवश्च कपिलस्तत्र जायते

Transliteration

tataśca dvāparaṃ bhāvi tṛtīyaṃ dvijasattamāḥ | dvau pādau tatra pāpasya dvau ca dharmasya saṃsthitau | bhagavānvāsudevaśca kapilastatra jāyate

Translation

Ensuite vient le Dvāpara, le troisième âge, ô meilleurs des deux-fois-nés. Là, deux quarts appartiennent au péché et deux quarts demeurent dans le dharma. En cet âge naît le Seigneur Vāsudeva, et Kapila aussi.

Word by Word

• tataḥ: thereafter
• tataḥ: Kāla (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): क्रम/अनन्तरार्थे (thereafter)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• dvāparam: Dvāpara (age)
• dvāparam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvāpara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

• bhāvi: to come, impending
• bhāvi: Kriyā-pūraka (Predicate adjective/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhāvin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular); भविष्यदर्थक विशेषण (future/impending)

• tṛtīyam: third
• tṛtīyam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tṛtīya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular)

• dvija-sattamāḥ: O best of the twice-born
• dvija-sattamāḥ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), बहुवचन (Plural); तत्पुरुष: ‘best among dvijas’ (vocative-sense in address though form is nominative plural)

• dvau: two
• dvau: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), द्विवचन (Dual)

• pādau: quarters/parts
• pādau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), द्विवचन (Dual)

• tatra: there (in that age)
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• pāpasya: of sin
• pāpasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• dvau: two
• dvau: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dvi (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), द्विवचन (Dual)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• dharmasya: of dharma
• dharmasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• saṃsthitau: remain, are established
• saṃsthitau: Kriyā-pūraka (Predicate adjective/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sam-√sthā (स्था धातु) + saṃsthita (क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), द्विवचन (Dual); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त: ‘standing/remaining’ (agreeing with pādau)

• bhagavān: the Lord
• bhagavān: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• vāsudevaḥ: Vāsudeva
• vāsudevaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāsudeva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-बोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• kapilaḥ: Kapila
• kapilaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kapila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (locative adverb)

• jāyate: is born, arises
• jāyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (जन् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; address to dvijas suggests discourse to sages; exact speaker not explicit in snippet)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-sattamāḥ (addressed audience of brahmins)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A split tableau: on one side, a balance scale showing two quarters of dharma and two of sin; on the other, Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa) appearing with divine radiance, and Kapila as a golden-hued sage seated in meditation, symbolizing bhakti and jñāna together.

Characters & Entities

• Dvāpara
• Vāsudeva
• Kapila

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma declines by stages, yet divine manifestations and sages arise to re-teach truth when imbalance grows.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is identified in this verse; it is yuga-description within the Tīrthamāhātmya narration.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is doctrinal/cosmological.