Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

दशवर्षसहस्राणि ततोऽहं तप आस्थितः । पुनराकाशजा वाणी मामुवाचाविनश्वरा

Transliteration

daśavarṣasahasrāṇi tato'haṃ tapa āsthitaḥ | punarākāśajā vāṇī māmuvācāvinaśvarā

Translation

അതുകൊണ്ട് ഞാൻ പത്തായിരം വർഷം തപസ്സിൽ നിലകൊണ്ടു. വീണ്ടും ആകാശജന്യമായ അവിനാശി വാണി എന്നോട് സംസാരിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• दशवर्षसहस्राणि: ten-thousand years
• दशवर्षसहस्राणि: Kala-adhikarana (Time extent/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (सहस्र), द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन — Accusative plural (duration); तत्पुरुष-समास (दशवर्षाणां सहस्राणि)

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriya-vishesana (Temporal/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रम/अपादानवाचक) — “then/from there”

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular

• तपः: austerity
• तपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative singular

• आस्थितः: undertook; engaged in
• आस्थितः: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-स्था (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP) पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — “having undertaken/engaged in”

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: Kriya-vishesana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (पुनरावृत्तिवाचक)

• आकाशजा: born from the sky
• आकाशजा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आकाश (प्रातिपदिक) + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; तत्पुरुष-समास (आकाशात् जाता) qualifying वाणी

• वाणी: a voice
• वाणी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular

• माम्: me
• माम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन — Accusative singular pronoun

• उवाच: spoke
• उवाच: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन — “said”

• अविनश्वरा: imperishable
• अविनश्वरा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ- विनश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), एकवचन — Nominative singular; नञ्-समास: “imperishable” qualifying वाणी

Speaker

Brahmā (narrating)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A montage-like scene: the ascetic remains seated through changing cosmic seasons/aeons; austerity-fire (tapo-agni) glows around him; from the sky descends an imperishable voice as a radiant presence.

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Ākāśajā Vāṇī (sky-born voice)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Great outcomes in dharma mature through sustained tapas and patience across long spans of time.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears in this verse; it supports the broader tīrtha-glorification by establishing sacred authority through cosmology.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Extended tapas (austerity) is described as the core discipline undertaken.