Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

यावद्वर्षशतं साग्रं न च तुष्टा सुरेश्वरी । ततो वैराग्यमासाद्य वांछंत्यौ स्वतनुक्षयम्

Transliteration

yāvadvarṣaśataṃ sāgraṃ na ca tuṣṭā sureśvarī | tato vairāgyamāsādya vāṃchaṃtyau svatanukṣayam

Translation

Même après un siècle entier, la Déesse souveraine ne fut pas encore satisfaite. Alors, parvenues au détachement, toutes deux désirèrent l’extinction de leur propre corps (abandon de soi jusqu’à la mort).

Word by Word

• yāvat: as long as; for the duration that
• yāvat: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/अवधि-वाचक (indeclinable of extent: 'as long as/for so long')

• varṣaśatam: a hundred years
• varṣaśatam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (कर्म) एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (numeral compound)

• sāgram: with an additional part; complete and more
• sāgram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sāgra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying varṣaśatam)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

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

• tuṣṭā: satisfied; pleased
• tuṣṭā: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tuṣ (धातु) → tuṣṭa (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP); विशेषण/विधेय (predicate adjective)

• sureśvarī: the goddess, Lady of the gods
• sureśvarī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sureśvarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन

• tataḥ: then; thereafter
• tataḥ: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्/ततः (ablatival adverb: 'then/from that')

• vairāgyam: dispassion; renunciation
• vairāgyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vairāgya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन

• āsādya: having attained; having reached
• āsādya: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial to main verb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā√sad (धातु) → āsādya (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund): 'having attained'

• vāṃchantyau: they two desire
• vāṃchantyau: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vāṃch (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान); प्रथमपुरुष; द्विवचन; परस्मैपद

• svatanu-kṣayam: destruction of their own body
• svatanu-kṣayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + tanu (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (svatanos kṣayaḥ → svatanu-kṣayaḥ)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two ascetics/brāhmaṇas (or a pair of practitioners) after a century of austerity, emaciated yet resolute, standing near a sacred kuṇḍa/altar, faces turned inward in dispassion, preparing for a final act of surrender.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Sureśvarī (Devī)
• Ambā (implied)
• Vṛddhā (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True renunciation can arise even from unfulfilled desire: when results do not come, the heart may turn from demand to surrender.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The austerities are situated within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya, highlighting the intensity of practice associated with the site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Extended tapas/vrata is implied (lasting up to a hundred years); the verse also notes the extreme resolve of self-surrender (sva-tanu-kṣaya), not as a standard injunction but as narrative intensity.