Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

ततः कालेन मे मृत्युः संजातोऽत्रैव मंदिरे । तत्प्रभावेण संजातो राजा जातिस्मरोऽत्र हि

Transliteration

tataḥ kālena me mṛtyuḥ saṃjāto'traiva maṃdire | tatprabhāveṇa saṃjāto rājā jātismaro'tra hi

Translation

Puis, avec le temps, je mourus ici même, dans ce temple. Par sa puissance, je naquis roi — oui, en ce lieu même — doté du souvenir de ma naissance passée.

Word by Word

• ततः: thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; स्थान/क्रमवाचक (indeclinable adverb: ‘thereafter/from that’)

• कालेन: by time, in course of time
• कालेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; instrumental ‘by/with time’

• मे: my
• मे: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन; enclitic genitive ‘of me/my’

• मृत्युः: death
• मृत्युः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्यु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• संजातः: arose, occurred
• संजातः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+जन् (धातु) → संजात (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; predicate participle ‘arisen/occurred’

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (indeclinable adverb: ‘here’)

• एव: indeed, just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (particle of emphasis)

• मंदिरे: in the temple
• मंदिरे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्दिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/अधिकरण), एकवचन

• तत्-प्रभावेण: by the power of that
• तत्-प्रभावेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + प्रभाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ‘by the power of that’

• संजातः: was born/arose
• संजातः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+जन् (धातु) → संजात (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; predicate participle

• राजा: a king
• राजा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• जाति-स्मरः: remembering former births
• जाति-स्मरः: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जाति (प्रातिपदिक) + स्मर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष ‘one who remembers (his) birth/previous life’

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक

• हि: indeed
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle: indeed/for)

Speaker

Rājā

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas (dvija-śreṣṭhas) present with the king

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Inside a sanctum precinct: a devotee’s death occurring within the temple, followed by a symbolic rebirth as a crowned king in the same sacred locale; subtle aura of Devī-śakti linking the two lives.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• Mandira (temple)
• Jātismara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic sacred geography teaches that the power of a holy shrine and its worship can shape rebirth, status, and even remembrance of past lives.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Devī’s temple site (mandira/āyatana) in Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; the verse emphasizes the site’s prabhāva (inherent potency).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not a direct prescription; it states the result (phala) attributed to the place and the implied pradakṣiṇā performed there.