Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

ततः स कथयामास पूर्वदेहसमुद्भवम् । मलिम्लुचस्ततो नूनं शिवरात्रिसमुद्भवम्

Transliteration

tataḥ sa kathayāmāsa pūrvadehasamudbhavam | malimlucastato nūnaṃ śivarātrisamudbhavam

Translation

ततः स पूर्वदेहसमुद्भवं वृत्तान्तं कथयामास; मलिम्लुचत्वं च नूनं शिवरात्रिव्रतसम्बन्धात् समभवत्।

Word by Word

• ततः: then
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रमार्थक-अव्यय (then)

• सः: he
• सः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• कथयामास: narrated
• कथयामास: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कथ् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect; periphrastic), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• पूर्वदेहसमुद्भवम्: arising from a former body (previous life)
• पूर्वदेहसमुद्भवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्व + देह + समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुपद-तत्पुरुष (पूर्वस्य देहस्य समुद्भवः), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; (कथयामास) कर्म

• मलिम्लुचः: a malimluca (outcaste/impure person)
• मलिम्लुचः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मलिम्लुच् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; (अत्र विषय/कर्ता-निर्देशः)

• ततः: thereupon
• ततः: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: क्रमार्थक-अव्यय (then/thereupon)

• नूनम्: surely
• नूनम्: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नूनम् (अव्यय)
• Form: निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• शिवरात्रिसमुद्भवम्: arising from (the rite of) Śivarātri
• शिवरात्रिसमुद्भवम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिवरात्रि + समुद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (शिवरात्रेः समुद्भवः), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; (कथयामास) कर्म; पूर्वपदं 'शिवरात्रि' स्त्रीलिङ्ग-प्रातिपदिक

Speaker

Narrator (context indicates Bhartṛyajña continuing the account to the king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A penitent figure narrates his former-life origin; sages listen gravely. Visual contrast: shadowy imagery of a past act and the present confession under a Śiva emblem (liṅga, trident, crescent moon).

Characters & Entities

• Śivarātri

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Past actions and sacred observances shape one’s destiny; Śivarātri is presented as a decisive karmic cause in Purāṇic ethics.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is within a Tīrthamāhātmya setting, but no specific tīrtha name appears in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śivarātri is referenced as the causative sacred observance; details of the rite are clarified in adjacent verses.