Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

ततश्चानेन मानेन षष्ट्या युक्तैस्त्रिभिः शतैः । ब्रह्मणो वत्सरं भावि केशवस्य च तद्दिनम्

Transliteration

tataścānena mānena ṣaṣṭyā yuktaistribhiḥ śataiḥ | brahmaṇo vatsaraṃ bhāvi keśavasya ca taddinam

Translation

Puis, selon cette même mesure, trois cent soixante (360) jours de ce genre constituent une année de Brahmā ; et cette même durée est tenue pour un seul jour de Keśava.

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तरार्थक) = thereafter

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय) = and

• अनेन: by this
• अनेन: Visheshana (Qualifying instrument/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण = by this

• मानेन: measure/standard
• मानेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन

• षष्ट्या: with sixty
• षष्ट्या: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṣṭi (संख्यावाचक-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; संख्या = sixty

• युक्तैः: joined/combined
• युक्तैः: Visheshana (Qualifying instrument/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yukta (कृदन्त; √yuj युज्, क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त = joined/combined

• त्रिभिः: by three
• त्रिभिः: Visheshana (Qualifying instrument/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (संख्यावाचक-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; संख्या-विशेषण = by three

• शतैः: hundreds
• शतैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन

• ब्रह्मणः: of Brahmā
• ब्रह्मणः: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• वत्सरम्: year
• वत्सरम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vatsara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• भावि: will be
• भावि: Visheshana (Adjectival to subject/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhāvin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; भविष्यदर्थक-विशेषण = will be

• केशवस्य: of Keśava (Viṣṇu)
• केशवस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: keśava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय) = and

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन; सर्वनाम-विशेषण = that

• दिनम्: day
• दिनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dina (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrative voice (Sūta as continuing expositor within the Māhātmya context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic ladder of time: Brahmā’s calendar (days forming a year) shown as a small wheel nested inside a vast luminous disc labeled Keśava’s single day.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Keśava

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It teaches layered scales of time across divine orders, reminding devotees that dharma transcends limited human reckoning.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The cosmological teaching is embedded within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra-māhātmya narrative of the Nāgara-khaṇḍa.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual is prescribed; the verse establishes a doctrinal framework of time.