Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

भविष्यंति युगस्यांते नराः अंगुष्ठमात्रकाः । गृहं च तेऽथ कुर्वंति बिलैराखुसमुद्भवैः

Transliteration

bhaviṣyaṃti yugasyāṃte narāḥ aṃguṣṭhamātrakāḥ | gṛhaṃ ca te'tha kurvaṃti bilairākhusamudbhavaiḥ

Translation

ಯುಗಾಂತದಲ್ಲಿ ಮನುಷ್ಯರು ಅಂಗುಷ್ಟಮಾತ್ರರಾಗುವರು. ಆಗ ಇಲಿ ಹುಟ್ಟಿಸಿದ ಬಿಲಗಳನ್ನೇ ತಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಗಳಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವರು.

Word by Word

• भविष्यन्ति: will be/become
• भविष्यन्ति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू)
• Form: लृट्-लकार (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• युगस्य: of the age (yuga)
• युगस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), एकवचन

• अन्ते: at the end
• अन्ते: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• नराः: men/people
• नराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• अंगुष्ठमात्रकाः: thumb-sized
• अंगुष्ठमात्रकाः: Visheshana (Adjectival to subject/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aṃguṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक) + mātra (प्रातिपदिक) + -ka (तद्धित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास: अंगुष्ठस्य मात्रम् (thumb-measure) + क-प्रत्यय (diminutive/measure)

• गृहं: a house
• गृहं: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

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

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• अथ: then
• अथ: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अनन्तरार्थक/क्रमसूचक) = then/thereupon

• कुर्वन्ति: make/build
• कुर्वन्ति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (कृ)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• बिलैः: with holes/burrows
• बिलैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bila (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन

• आखुसमुद्भवैः: arising from rats/mice
• आखुसमुद्भवैः: Visheshana (Qualifying instrument/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ākhu (प्रातिपदिक) + samudbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास: आखोः समुद्भवाः = arising from mice/rats

Speaker

Unspecified (Purāṇic narrator within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya; deduced as a narrator describing Kali-yuga signs)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Surreal end-of-age tableau: tiny thumb-sized humans entering rat-burrows as dwellings; vast, indifferent landscape; a distant temple spire or sacred river remains proportionally immense, symbolizing the enduring sacred.

Characters & Entities

• Kali-yuga
• yugānta (end of the age)
• ākhu (rat)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It uses stark end-of-age imagery to stress the consequences of prolonged dharma decline and the urgency of spiritual refuge in sacred practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.