Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

युगरूपेण सा पश्चाच्चतुर्धा विनियोजिता । मदप्रज्ञानुसारेण नराणां तु महर्षिभिः

Transliteration

yugarūpeṇa sā paścāccaturdhā viniyojitā | madaprajñānusāreṇa narāṇāṃ tu maharṣibhiḥ

Translation

のちに、ユガの相に応じて、大リシたちは人々の理解力の差に従い、これを四部に配して整えた。

Word by Word

• युगरूपेण: in the form of (according to) the yugas
• युगरूपेण: Sahakari (Instrument/साधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग + रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः—युग + रूप (तत्पुरुषः)

• सा: that (compendium)
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• पश्चात्: afterwards
• पश्चात्: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पश्चात् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal adverb)

• चतुर्धा: fourfold
• चतुर्धा: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चतुर्धा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/संख्यावाचक (adverb: fourfold)

• विनियोजिता: was arranged/assigned
• विनियोजिता: Kriya (Predicative/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + नि + युज् (धातु) → विनियोजित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (क्त) ‘was arranged/assigned’; उपसर्गौ—वि, नि

• मदप्रज्ञानुसारेण: according to my understanding
• मदप्रज्ञानुसारेण: Sahakari (Instrument/साधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मत्(=मद्) + प्रज्ञा + अनुसार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; समासः—मद्(=मम) + प्रज्ञा + अनुसार (तत्पुरुषः; ‘according to my understanding’)

• नराणाम्: of men/for people
• नराणाम्: Sambandha (Possession/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेष (particle: but/indeed)

• महर्षिभिः: by great sages
• महर्षिभिः: Kartr-karana (Agent-instrument/कर्तृ-करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महर्षि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nareśvara and ṛṣis

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sages organizing a vast corpus into four divisions: piles of manuscripts being sorted; a symbolic wheel of time (yuga-cakra) behind them; humans of varied stations receiving teachings suited to them.

Characters & Entities

• Maharṣis
• Yugas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma-teaching is compassionate and adaptive—presented in forms suitable to the yuga and the listener’s capacity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None directly; it is a meta-statement about how the Purāṇa was organized.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it explains textual structuring, not a ritual.