Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 90

Devanagari script

अल्पत्वाद्दुर्लभत्वाच्च अशक्ता गृहकर्मणि । भविष्यंत्यफला यज्ञास्तथा वेदव्रतानि च

Transliteration

alpatvāddurlabhatvācca aśaktā gṛhakarmaṇi | bhaviṣyaṃtyaphalā yajñāstathā vedavratāni ca

Translation

അल्पതയും ദുർലഭതയും കാരണം ജനങ്ങൾ ഗൃഹകർമ്മങ്ങളിൽ അശക്തരാകും; യജ്ഞങ്ങൾ ഫലരഹിതമാകും, അതുപോലെ വേദവ്രതങ്ങളും.

Word by Word

• अल्पत्वात्: due to scarcity
• अल्पत्वात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अल्पत्व (प्रातिपदिक; अल्प + त्व)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थ (because of smallness/scarcity)

• दुर्लभत्वात्: due to difficulty of obtaining
• दुर्लभत्वात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्लभत्व (प्रातिपदिक; दुर्लभ + त्व)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थ

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

• अशक्ताः: unable, incapable
• अशक्ताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अशक्त (प्रातिपदिक; अ-शक्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (अधिकारिणः/जनाः implied)

• गृहकर्मणि: in household work/rites
• गृहकर्मणि: Adhikarana (Location/Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृह-कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक; गृह + कर्मन्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; अधिकरण (in household duties)

• भविष्यन्ति: will be
• भविष्यन्ति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• अफलाः: fruitless
• अफलाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अफल (प्रातिपदिक; अ-फल)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; विशेषण (यज्ञाः)

• यज्ञाः: sacrifices
• यज्ञाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/तुल्यतावाचक (likewise)

• वेदव्रतानि: Vedic vows/observances
• वेदव्रतानि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद-व्रत (प्रातिपदिक; वेद + व्रत)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; यज्ञाः इत्यस्य समुच्चित-विषय

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (conjunction)

Speaker

Unknown (contextual narrator in Nāgarakhaṇḍa; speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A struggling householder before an unlit sacrificial fire, empty granaries, broken ladles; beside him, a small shrine with a lamp and tulasī, indicating a shift from grand yajña to simple devotion.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It portrays Kali-yuga constraints that weaken elaborate rites, indirectly elevating accessible dharmic practices (truthfulness, charity, devotion, and tīrtha-oriented piety).

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned; the verse supports the chapter’s broader tīrtha-mahātmya framing by describing why ritual life declines.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It references yajña and Vedic vratas, stating they become ‘aphala’ under Kali-yuga conditions; no substitute rite is specified in this verse.