Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

तस्य चायतने पुण्ये योगात्प्राणान्परित्यजेत् । प्रायोपवेशनं कृत्वा न स भूयोऽपि जायते

Transliteration

tasya cāyatane puṇye yogātprāṇānparityajet | prāyopaveśanaṃ kṛtvā na sa bhūyo'pi jāyate

Translation

ആ പുണ്യസന്നിധിയിൽ യോഗസമാധിയാൽ പ്രാണൻ ഉപേക്ഷിക്കാം; പ്രായോപവേശനവ്രതം അനുഷ്ഠിച്ചാൽ അവൻ വീണ്ടും ജനിക്കുകയില്ല।

Word by Word

• tasya: of him/of that
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयबोधक)

• āyatane: in the abode/temple
• āyatane: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āyatana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन

• puṇye: holy
• puṇye: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — विशेषण (āyatane)

• yogāt: by (the power of) yoga
• yogāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yoga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन — कारण/हेतु-अर्थे

• prāṇān: life-breaths
• prāṇān: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• parityajet: should abandon
• parityajet: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√tyaj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative/विधिलिङ्), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• prāyopaveśanam: fasting unto death (sitting in resolve)
• prāyopaveśanam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prāya-upaveśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (प्रायः उपवेशनम्/प्रायोपवेशनम्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• kṛtvā: having done
• kṛtvā: Kriya (Non-finite action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive) — ‘having done’

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध) — negation

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• bhūyaḥ: again
• bhūyaḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhūyas (अव्यय-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — again/further

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) — even/also

• jāyate: is born
• jāyate: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √jan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present/लट्), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Narrator (Purāṇic voice; contextually Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa tradition in Māhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A serene sanctuary: an ascetic seated in yogic posture near a Śiva shrine, breath stilled; nearby, a simple kusa-grass seat indicating prāyopaveśana; atmosphere of quiet lamps and sacred stillness.

Characters & Entities

• Śiva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The Māhātmya exalts the kṣetra as a liberating place where disciplined renunciation can culminate in freedom from rebirth.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse refers to “that holy abode” within the ongoing tīrtha narrative; the exact tīrtha name is not contained in this single verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Prāyopaveśana—undertaking a final, vowed fast in a sacred precinct—along with yogic composure at life’s end.