Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 12

Devanagari script

यावद्वर्षशतं साग्रं न च तुष्टा सुरेश्वरी । ततो वैराग्यमासाद्य वांछंत्यौ स्वतनुक्षयम्

Transliteration

yāvadvarṣaśataṃ sāgraṃ na ca tuṣṭā sureśvarī | tato vairāgyamāsādya vāṃchaṃtyau svatanukṣayam

Translation

പൂർണ്ണമായ നൂറു വർഷം കഴിഞ്ഞിട്ടും സുരേശ്വരി ദേവി തൃപ്തയായില്ല. പിന്നെ വൈരാഗ്യം പ്രാപിച്ച് അവർ ഇരുവരും സ്വന്തം ദേഹക്ഷയം ആഗ്രഹിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• yāvat: as long as; for the duration that
• yāvat: Adhikarana (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण/अवधि-वाचक (indeclinable of extent: 'as long as/for so long')

• varṣaśatam: a hundred years
• varṣaśatam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया (कर्म) एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (numeral compound)

• sāgram: with an additional part; complete and more
• sāgram: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sāgra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying varṣaśatam)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• tuṣṭā: satisfied; pleased
• tuṣṭā: Karta (Subject-complement/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tuṣ (धातु) → tuṣṭa (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त/PPP); विशेषण/विधेय (predicate adjective)

• sureśvarī: the goddess, Lady of the gods
• sureśvarī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sureśvarī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन

• tataḥ: then; thereafter
• tataḥ: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्/ततः (ablatival adverb: 'then/from that')

• vairāgyam: dispassion; renunciation
• vairāgyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vairāgya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन

• āsādya: having attained; having reached
• āsādya: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial to main verb/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā√sad (धातु) → āsādya (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund): 'having attained'

• vāṃchantyau: they two desire
• vāṃchantyau: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vāṃch (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान); प्रथमपुरुष; द्विवचन; परस्मैपद

• svatanu-kṣayam: destruction of their own body
• svatanu-kṣayam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + tanu (प्रातिपदिक) + kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (svatanos kṣayaḥ → svatanu-kṣayaḥ)

Speaker

Sūta

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two ascetics/brāhmaṇas (or a pair of practitioners) after a century of austerity, emaciated yet resolute, standing near a sacred kuṇḍa/altar, faces turned inward in dispassion, preparing for a final act of surrender.

Characters & Entities

• Sūta
• Sureśvarī (Devī)
• Ambā (implied)
• Vṛddhā (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

True renunciation can arise even from unfulfilled desire: when results do not come, the heart may turn from demand to surrender.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The austerities are situated within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya, highlighting the intensity of practice associated with the site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Extended tapas/vrata is implied (lasting up to a hundred years); the verse also notes the extreme resolve of self-surrender (sva-tanu-kṣaya), not as a standard injunction but as narrative intensity.