Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

एवमुक्त्वा ययौ दक्षश्चन्द्रोऽपि द्विजसत्तमाः । तत्क्षणाद्यक्ष्मणाश्लिष्टः क्षयं याति दिने दिने

Transliteration

evamuktvā yayau dakṣaścandro'pi dvijasattamāḥ | tatkṣaṇādyakṣmaṇāśliṣṭaḥ kṣayaṃ yāti dine dine

Translation

ഇങ്ങനെ പറഞ്ഞ് ദക്ഷൻ പുറപ്പെട്ടു; ഹേ ദ്വിജശ്രേഷ്ഠന്മാരേ, ചന്ദ്രനും ആ ക്ഷണത്തിൽ തന്നെ യക്ഷ്മയിൽ പിടിപെട്ട് ദിനംപ്രതി ക്ഷയിച്ചു തുടങ്ങി.

Word by Word

• evam: thus
• evam: Prakāra (Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रकारवाचक)

• uktvā: having said
• uktvā: Pūrvakāla (Prior action)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: √vac (धातु) + ktvā (क्त्वा)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (Gerund)

• yayau: went
• yayau: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• dakṣaḥ: Dakṣa
• dakṣaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• candraḥ: the Moon
• candraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: candra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• api: also
• api: Samuccaya (Addition)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चय/अपि = also/even)

• dvija-sattamāḥ: O best of the twice-born (Brahmins)
• dvija-sattamāḥ: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थ (द्विजानां सत्तमाः)

• tat-kṣaṇāt: from that instant
• tat-kṣaṇāt: Kāla (Time-from/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम) + kṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय-प्रयोग (तत्क्षणात् = ‘from that moment’), पञ्चमी-एकवचन रूपं

• yakṣmaṇā: by consumption (disease)
• yakṣmaṇā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yakṣman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• āliṣṭaḥ: gripped; embraced (seized)
• āliṣṭaḥ: Karta (Qualifier of subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā-√śliṣ (धातु) + kta (क्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (Past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kṣayam: decline; wasting
• kṣayam: Gati-karma (Goal/object of motion)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• yāti: goes; falls into
• yāti: Kriyā (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √yā (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• dine: in (each) day
• dine: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dina (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• dine: day by day
• dine: Adhikaraṇa (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dina (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (पुनरुक्ति)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; Sūta addressing sages)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and the Naimiṣāraṇya sages (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Dakṣa exits; the Moon immediately shows signs of wasting—his body thinning, aura dimming, attendants alarmed; time is suggested by a sequence of diminishing moon-discs to show ‘day by day’ decline.

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣa
• Candra
• Yakṣmā

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic storytelling emphasizes immediacy of karmic consequence when dharma is violated.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is directly praised in this verse; it continues the etiological narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None.