Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 51

Devanagari script

एतस्मात्कारणाद्यत्नः सन्तानाय विचक्षणैः । प्रकर्तव्यो मनुष्येंद्र वंशस्य स्थितये सदा

Transliteration

etasmātkāraṇādyatnaḥ santānāya vicakṣaṇaiḥ | prakartavyo manuṣyeṃdra vaṃśasya sthitaye sadā

Translation

ഈ കാരണത്താൽ, ഹേ നരേന്ദ്രാ, വംശത്തിന്റെ നിത്യസ്ഥിതിക്കായി വിവേകികൾ സന്താനപ്രാപ്തിക്കായി എപ്പോഴും പരിശ്രമപൂർവ്വം ശ്രമിക്കണം।

Word by Word

• etasmāt: from this
• etasmāt: Apadana (Cause-source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन

• kāraṇāt: because of the reason
• kāraṇāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन

• yatnaḥ: effort
• yatnaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yatna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा (1st/कर्ता), एकवचन

• santānāya: for progeny/continuity
• santānāya: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: santāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी (4th/सम्प्रदान), एकवचन

• vicakṣaṇaiḥ: by the wise/discerning (people)
• vicakṣaṇaiḥ: Karana (Agent-instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vicakṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; तृतीया (3rd/करण), बहुवचन

• prakartavyaḥ: should be undertaken
• prakartavyaḥ: Kriya (Obligation predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pra + kṛ (धातु) → kartavya (कृदन्त)
• Form: भविष्यत्कृदन्त/कर्तव्यताप्रत्यय (तव्यत्); पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम् ‘yatnaḥ’ (to be done)

• manuṣyendra: O best of men
• manuṣyendra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manuṣya (प्रातिपदिक) + indra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (chief among men)

• vaṃśasya: of the lineage
• vaṃśasya: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaṃśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• sthitaye: for stability/continuance
• sthitaye: Sampradana (Purpose/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sthiti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; चतुर्थी (4th/सम्प्रदान), एकवचन

• sadā: always
• sadā: Sambandha (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नित्यत्ववाचक (always)

Speaker

Bhartṛyajña

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: rājā (narendra/narādhipa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic courtly scene: a sage instructs a king on the necessity of progeny for sustaining lineage and ancestral rites; subtle presence of a tīrtha landscape in the background.

Characters & Entities

• Bhartṛyajña

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Householder dharma includes sustaining lineage, viewed as an ongoing support for ancestral and dharmic continuity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it closes a doctrinal segment within the Tīrthamāhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A general prescription is given: the wise should strive for santāna (progeny) to maintain vaṃśa-sthiti (lineage stability).