Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

निजे वर्षशते पूर्णे वालुकारेणवो यथा । निजमानेन या श्रद्धा ब्रह्मज्ञानसमुद्भवा । तेषां चेन्मानुषाणां च तन्मुक्तिः स्यादसंशयम्

Transliteration

nije varṣaśate pūrṇe vālukāreṇavo yathā | nijamānena yā śraddhā brahmajñānasamudbhavā | teṣāṃ cenmānuṣāṇāṃ ca tanmuktiḥ syādasaṃśayam

Translation

സ്വന്തം നൂറുവർഷം പൂർത്തിയായപ്പോൾ മണൽകണങ്ങൾ എണ്ണപ്പെടുന്നതുപോലെ, സ്വന്തം മാനത്തിൽ ബ്രഹ്മജ്ഞാനത്തിൽ നിന്നുയരുന്ന ശ്രദ്ധ—അത് മനുഷ്യരിലും ഉണ്ടെങ്കിൽ, സംശയമില്ലാതെ അവരുടെ മോക്ഷം സംഭവിക്കും.

Word by Word

• nije: in one’s own
• nije: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; ‘in one’s own’

• varṣa-śate: in (one’s) hundred years
• varṣa-śate: Adhikarana (Time-locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (śataṃ varṣāṇām)

• pūrṇe: when completed/full
• pūrṇe: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (varṣaśate)

• vālukā-reṇavaḥ: grains of sand
• vālukā-reṇavaḥ: Upamāna (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vālukā + reṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (vālukāyāḥ reṇavaḥ)

• yathā: as/just like
• yathā: Upamā (Comparison marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानार्थक-अव्यय (comparative particle)

• nija-mānena: by one’s own measure/standard
• nija-mānena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nija + māna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (nijaṃ mānam)

• yā: which
• yā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक

• śraddhā: faith
• śraddhā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śraddhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• brahma-jñāna-samudbhavā: arising from knowledge of Brahman
• brahma-jñāna-samudbhavā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brahman + jñāna + samudbhavā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (brahmajñānasya samudbhavā)

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

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

• cet: if
• cet: Hetu/Condition (Condition/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: cet (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्यय (conditional particle ‘if’)

• 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)

• tat-muktiḥ: that liberation
• tat-muktiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad + mukti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (tasya muktiḥ)

• syāt: would be/may be
• syāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• asaṃśayam: without doubt
• asaṃśayam: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: a + saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाववत् क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial accusative)

Speaker

Sūta

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages in the assembly (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūta explains with a sand-grain simile: a human lifespan of a hundred years contrasted with countless grains; the focus shifts to a luminous heart-symbol representing śraddhā born of Brahman-knowledge.

Characters & Entities

• Brahman

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Liberation depends on śraddhā grounded in true knowledge, not on lifespan; the inner measure (nija-māna) is decisive.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it functions as teaching within the Tīrthamāhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed; the stress is on knowledge-born faith as the enabling condition for mokṣa.