Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 14

Devanagari script

ततो वर्षशते पूर्णे ब्रह्मद्वारेण केवलम् । आत्मानं सम्यगुत्सृज्य मोक्षमेव प्रयास्यसि

Transliteration

tato varṣaśate pūrṇe brahmadvāreṇa kevalam | ātmānaṃ samyagutsṛjya mokṣameva prayāsyasi

Translation

അപ്പോൾ നൂറു വർഷം പൂർത്തിയായാൽ, ബ്രഹ്മദ്വാരത്തിലൂടെയേ നീ യഥാവിധി ദേഹം ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് മോക്ഷത്തെയേ പ്രാപിക്കും।

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then, thereafter
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable adverb): ‘thereupon/then’

• varṣaśate: in (the period of) a hundred years
• varṣaśate: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; ‘वर्षाणां शते’ इति षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (locative: in a hundred years)

• pūrṇe: when completed, full
• pūrṇe: Adhikarana (Temporal qualifier/कालविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying varṣaśate)

• brahmadvāreṇa: through the Brahma-gate
• brahmadvāreṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + dvāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/तृतीया), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः ‘ब्रह्मणः द्वारम्’ (instrumental: through/by the Brahma-gate)

• kevalam: only, solely
• kevalam: Sambandha (Modifier/विशेषण-भाव)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kevala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable particle/adverb): ‘only/merely’

• ātmānam: the self
• ātmānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन; कर्म (object)

• samyak: properly, fully
• samyak: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samyak (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb): ‘properly, completely’

• utsṛjya: having relinquished
• utsṛjya: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ut-√sṛj (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपदी; ‘having abandoned/relinquished’

• mokṣam: liberation
• mokṣam: Karma (Goal as object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mokṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; गत्यर्थक-क्रियायाः कर्म

• eva: indeed, just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/निश्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (particle of emphasis): ‘indeed/just’

• prayāsyasi: you will go/attain
• prayāsyasi: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√yā (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future/लृट्), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदी

Speaker

Śrī Bhagavān (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene, luminous threshold (‘Brahma-gate’) opens as the devotee, having completed a full life, peacefully releases the body; subtle divine radiance indicates liberation rather than a dramatic death scene.

Characters & Entities

• brahmadvāra (brahmarandhra)
• mokṣa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

A dharmic life culminates in a disciplined departure and liberation; mokṣa is portrayed as a divinely ordered end.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching is delivered within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra Māhātmya, connecting liberation themes to the kṣetra’s sacred narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No external ritual; it implies a yogic/inner passage at death via the brahmarandhra (brahmadvāra).