Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 48

Devanagari script

व्यास उवाच । ब्रह्मचारी भवेत्पूर्वं गृहस्थश्च ततः परम् । वानप्रस्थो यतिश्चैव ततो मोक्षमवाप्नुयात्

Transliteration

vyāsa uvāca | brahmacārī bhavetpūrvaṃ gṛhasthaśca tataḥ param | vānaprastho yatiścaiva tato mokṣamavāpnuyāt

Translation

വ്യാസൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ആദ്യം ബ്രഹ്മചാരിയായിരിക്കണം, പിന്നെ ഗൃഹസ്ഥൻ. തുടർന്ന് വാനപ്രസ്ഥനും പിന്നെ യതിയും (സന്ന്യാസിയും) ആകണം; ഈ ക്രമത്തിലൂടെ മോക്ഷം പ്രാപിക്കുന്നു.

Word by Word

• व्यासः: Vyāsa
• व्यासः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• ब्रह्मचारी: a celibate student (brahmacārin)
• ब्रह्मचारी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मचारिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• भवेत्: should be/become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• पूर्वम्: first
• पूर्वम्: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: 'first/previously')

• गृहस्थः: householder
• गृहस्थः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृहस्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Sambandha (Sequence/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रम/अपादानार्थक-अव्यय (adverb: 'then/thereafter/from that')

• परम्: afterwards/next
• परम्: Sambandha (Sequence/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययप्रयोग)
• Form: क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (adverbial accusative: 'afterwards/next')

• वानप्रस्थः: forest-dweller (vānaprastha)
• वानप्रस्थः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वानप्रस्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• यतिः: renunciant (yati)
• यतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle: 'indeed/only')

• ततः: then
• ततः: Sambandha (Sequence/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रमवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: 'then/thereafter')

• मोक्षम्: liberation
• मोक्षम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन

• अवाप्नुयात्: should attain
• अवाप्नुयात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + आप् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

Vyāsa

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śuka

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic four-panel or continuous narrative: student with staff and sacred thread; householder with family and fire-altar; forest-dweller with simple hut; renunciant with ochre cloth—ending in a luminous horizon signifying mokṣa.

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Mokṣa is supported by a disciplined life structured through the four āśramas, not by impulsive renunciation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific site is named; the verse provides dharma-architecture commonly taught within tīrtha-mahātmya narratives.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The prescription is āśrama-dharma itself: sequential life-stages culminating in renunciation and liberation.