Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

पुनर्जन्मजराक्लेशसंस्कारैर्नाभिभूयते । आकाशसंभवो वेद एक एव पुराऽभवत्

Transliteration

punarjanmajarākleśasaṃskārairnābhibhūyate | ākāśasaṃbhavo veda eka eva purā'bhavat

Translation

അവൻ പുനർജന്മം, ജര, ക്ലേശം എന്നിവയ്ക്കു കാരണമാകുന്ന സംസ്കാരങ്ങളാൽ കീഴടക്കപ്പെടുന്നില്ല. പുരാതനകാലത്ത് ആകാശത്തിൽ നിന്നു ജനിച്ച വേദം ഒറ്റത്തന്നെയായിരുന്നു.

Word by Word

• पुनः-जन्म-जरा-क्लेश-संस्कारैः: by the impressions of rebirth, old age, suffering, etc.
• पुनः-जन्म-जरा-क्लेश-संस्कारैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय) + जन्म (प्रातिपदिक) + जरा (प्रातिपदिक) + क्लेश (प्रातिपदिक) + संस्कार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन; (जन्म-जरा-क्लेश-संस्कार) इति समाहारद्वन्द्वः, करणत्वेन

• न: not
• न: Sambandha-bodhaka (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation)

• अभिभूयते: is overpowered
• अभिभूयते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि + √भू (धातु)
• Form: लट् लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (is overpowered)

• आकाश-सम्भवः: born from space (ākāśa)
• आकाश-सम्भवः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आकाश (प्रातिपदिक) + सम्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• वेदः: the Veda
• वेदः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• एकः: one
• एकः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• एव: only
• एव: Sambandha-bodhaka (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-निपात (restrictive particle)

• पुरा: formerly
• पुरा: Kala-adhikarana (Time adjunct/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक अव्यय (adverb of time)

• अभवत्: was; came to be
• अभवत्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

Speaker

Brahmā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A yogin-devotee seated in meditation, vast sky/space above; a single luminous Veda (as a radiant manuscript or sound-form) emerging from ākāśa; chains of birth/age symbolically dissolving.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Veda
• Ākāśa (ether/space)
• Saṃskāra
• Punarjanma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Right devotion and disciplined dharma weaken saṃskāras that bind beings to rebirth and suffering.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is identified in this verse; it provides cosmological and soteriological teaching within the māhātmya frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct rite is stated here; it points to the spiritual outcome (freedom from binding saṃskāras) tied to the broader worship/vrata context.