Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 90

Devanagari script

एतस्मिन्नंतरे मर्त्ये नष्टा धर्मस्य च क्रिया । यज्ञदानकृता या च देवार्चनसमुद्भवा

Transliteration

etasminnaṃtare martye naṣṭā dharmasya ca kriyā | yajñadānakṛtā yā ca devārcanasamudbhavā

Translation

ഇതിനിടയിൽ മർത്ത്യരിൽ ധർമ്മക്രിയ നശിച്ചു—യജ്ഞവും ദാനവും മൂലമുള്ള കർമ്മങ്ങളും, ദേവാര്ചനയിൽ നിന്നുയരുന്ന ആചാരവും.

Word by Word

• etasmin: in this
• etasmin: Adhikaraṇa (location/time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुं/नपुंसक, सप्तमी एकवचन = in this

• antare: in the interval
• antare: Adhikaraṇa (time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन = in the interval; in the meantime

• martye: in the mortal realm
• martye: Adhikaraṇa (location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: martya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी एकवचन = in the mortal world/among mortals

• naṣṭā: was lost; perished
• naṣṭā: Kriyā (predicative, with kriyā as subject)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √naś (धातु) + naṣṭa (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘कृया’ इत्यस्य विधेय-विशेषणम् = has perished/was lost

• dharmasya: of dharma
• dharmasya: Sambandha (genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी एकवचन = of dharma

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय) = and

• kriyā: practice; rite
• kriyā: Karta (subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kriyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन = activity; practice

• yajña-dāna-kṛtā: done through sacrifice and charity
• yajña-dāna-kṛtā: Viśeṣaṇa (of kriyā)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: yajña (प्रातिपदिक) + dāna (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास (यज्ञं च दानं च) + कृत (क्त) = performed by sacrifice and gift; ‘कृया’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• yā: which
• yā: Anvaya (relative pronoun)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन = which

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय = and

• deva-arcana-samudbhavā: arising from worship of the gods
• deva-arcana-samudbhavā: Viśeṣaṇa (of kriyā)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + arcana (प्रातिपदिक) + samudbhava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (देवार्चनात् समुद्भवा) = arising from worship of the gods; ‘कृया’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

Speaker

Purāṇic narrator

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contrast tableau: abandoned yajña-vedi with cold ashes, neglected charity hall, and a quiet temple with dim lamps—signifying dharma’s fading among humans. In the distance, a tīrtha still shines as a refuge.

Characters & Entities

• Dharma
• Yajña
• Dāna
• Deva-arcana

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

When formal religious practices decline, Purāṇic texts highlight accessible paths—like tīrtha devotion—as sustaining dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse shifts to a broader moral setting; it frames the tīrtha’s importance against a backdrop of dharma’s decline in the same Adhyāya 198.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It references (as disappearing) the classic dharma-kriyās: yajña (sacrifice), dāna (charity), and deva-arcana (deity worship).