Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

संसारासारतां ज्ञात्वा जन्ममृत्युजरात्मिकाम् । अर्थात्स्वप्नप्रतीकाशं यौवनं च नृणा मिह

Transliteration

saṃsārāsāratāṃ jñātvā janmamṛtyujarātmikām | arthātsvapnapratīkāśaṃ yauvanaṃ ca nṛṇā miha

Translation

Ayant compris la vanité du samsara—fait de naissance, de mort et de décrépitude—et reconnaissant que même la jeunesse des hommes ici n’est, en vérité, qu’une fugitive apparence de songe…

Word by Word

• संसारासारताम्: the worthlessness/insubstantiality of worldly existence
• संसारासारताम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संसार + असारता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (संसारस्य असारता)

• ज्ञात्वा: having known
• ज्ञात्वा: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund) — ‘having known/realized’

• जन्ममृत्युजरात्मिकाम्: whose nature is birth, death, and old age
• जन्ममृत्युजरात्मिकाम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन्म + मृत्यु + जरा + आत्मिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (जन्म-मृत्यु-जरा-आत्मिका = having birth, death, and old age as its nature)

• अर्थात्: namely; in fact
• अर्थात्: Sambandha/Avadhāraṇa (Connector/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अर्थात् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात/अवधारणार्थक (i.e., namely/indeed)

• स्वप्नप्रतीकाशम्: dream-like; illusory
• स्वप्नप्रतीकाशम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वप्न + प्रतीकाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (स्वप्न इव प्रतीकाशः = dream-like/illusory)

• यौवनम्: youth
• यौवनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यौवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक-संबन्ध (conjunction ‘and’)

• नृणाम्: of men
• नृणाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• इह: here (in this world)
• इह: Adhikaraṇa (Locative sense/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of place ‘here/in this world’)

Speaker

Unknown (seeker continuing his reflection before requesting instruction)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contemplative tableau: the seeker speaks of birth, death, and old age; behind him, symbolic vignettes—fading youth, withering flowers, setting sun—suggest dream-like transience.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Impermanence (anityatā) is emphasized: recognizing birth–death–decay and the dreamlike nature of youth fuels genuine detachment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it provides the philosophical ground that often leads to tīrtha-sevā and deity worship in the surrounding narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it prepares the mind for upāsanā and liberating instruction.