Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 33

Devanagari script

तत्कथं मानुषाणां च मर्त्यलोकेल्पजीविनाम् । कथयंति च ये मुक्तिं विद्वांसश्चैव सूतज

Transliteration

tatkathaṃ mānuṣāṇāṃ ca martyalokelpajīvinām | kathayaṃti ca ye muktiṃ vidvāṃsaścaiva sūtaja

Translation

അങ്ങനെയെങ്കിൽ, ഹേ സൂതപുത്രാ! മർത്ത്യലോകത്തിൽ അല്പായുസ്സുള്ള മനുഷ്യർക്കായി പണ്ഡിതർ മോക്ഷത്തെ എങ്ങനെ പ്രസ്താവിക്കുന്നു?

Word by Word

• tat: that
• tat: Sambandha (Reference/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• katham: how
• katham: Prashna (Interrogative/प्रश्न)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (interrogative adverb)

• mānuṣāṇām: of humans
• mānuṣāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānuṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

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

• martyaloke: in the mortal world
• martyaloke: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: martya + loka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (martyānāṃ lokaḥ)

• alpa-jīvinām: of short-lived (beings)
• alpa-jīvinām: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: alpa + jīvin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (alpāḥ jīvinaḥ)

• kathayanti: they tell/describe
• kathayanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kathaya (धातु √kath, चुरादि)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

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

• ye: who
• ye: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-सर्वनाम

• muktim: liberation
• muktim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mukti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन

• vidvāṃsaḥ: learned ones
• vidvāṃsaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidvas (प्रातिपदिक; √vid)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; विशेष-प्रातिपदिक (विद्वस्)

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

• eva: indeed
• eva: Avadharana (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• sūtaja: O son of Sūta
• sūtaja: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sūta + ja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (sūtasya jaḥ)

Speaker

Ṛṣis (Sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A questioning sage addresses Sūta’s son in an assembly, gesturing toward the fleetingness of human life; the atmosphere is contemplative, with palm-leaf manuscripts and a quiet sacrificial hall.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse highlights urgency: human life is brief, so liberation must be pursued through right knowledge, faith, and dharma without delay.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is named in this verse; it frames a mokṣa-question within a Tīrthamāhātmya setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it is an inquiry that prepares for doctrinal clarification.