Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 81

Devanagari script

द्वादशाब्दं च तस्यायुरित्युक्त्वाथ विमृश्य च । पुनर्लेख्यगतं प्राह स वर्षायुतजीवितम्

Transliteration

dvādaśābdaṃ ca tasyāyurityuktvātha vimṛśya ca | punarlekhyagataṃ prāha sa varṣāyutajīvitam

Translation

“याचे आयुष्य बारा वर्षे,” असे सांगून तो पुन्हा विचार करू लागला; मग लेखी नोंद पुन्हा पाहून म्हणाला—“हा दहा हजार वर्षे जगेल।”

Word by Word

• dvādaśa-abdam: twelve years
• dvādaśa-abdam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvādaśa (प्रातिपदिक) + abda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (संख्यापूर्वकः)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Possessor/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive), एकवचन

• āyuḥ: lifespan
• āyuḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āyus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative), एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/इति)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: उद्धरण/वाक्यसमाप्तिसूचक-अव्यय (quotative particle)

• uktvā: having said
• uktvā: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive/gerund), ‘उक्त्वा’ = having said

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (Discourse marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्यय (then/thereupon)

• vimṛśya: having considered
• vimṛśya: Kriya (Prior action/पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: mṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (absolutive), उपसर्ग ‘वि-’; ‘विमृश्य’ = having reflected/considered

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• punar: again
• punar: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: काल/पुनरावृत्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (again)

• lekhya-gatam: (what was) written/entered in the record
• lekhya-gatam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: lekhya (प्रातिपदिक) + gata (गम्-धातु, क्त-प्रत्यय, कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘लेख्यं गतम्’ = writing/document reached (i.e., written/entered in writing)

• prāha: said
• prāha: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ah (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

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

• varṣa-āyuta-jīvitam: a lifespan of ten thousand years
• varṣa-āyuta-jīvitam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + āyuta (प्रातिपदिक) + jīvita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी/तत्पुरुषार्थः—‘आयुतं वर्षाणां’ (ten-thousand years) इति; ‘जīvitam’ = lifespan

Speaker

Contextually: a divine adjudicator/record-reader (linked with Yama’s administration in the surrounding verses)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: A king (nṛpa) and/or Śaiva assembly (contextual)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage/record-keeper re-checks a palm-leaf register of destiny; the written ‘twelve years’ is reconsidered and replaced with ‘ten thousand years,’ suggesting a cosmic correction under Śaiva influence.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Mṛtyu

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Rudra-centered merit can overturn fearful destinies; divine grace can transform even a short lifespan into long life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; the emphasis is on Rudra-japa/adhyāya as a liberating power.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, devotion to Rudra through japa/adhyāya-recitation is the cause behind the altered decree.