Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

विना स्नानेन भक्षाच्च दैवाद्द्विजवरोत्तमाः । ततः काले व्यतिक्रांते कियन्मात्रे स्वकर्मतः । उभौ पंचत्वमापन्नौ पृथक्त्वेनायुषः क्षये

Transliteration

vinā snānena bhakṣācca daivāddvijavarottamāḥ | tataḥ kāle vyatikrāṃte kiyanmātre svakarmataḥ | ubhau paṃcatvamāpannau pṛthaktvenāyuṣaḥ kṣaye

Translation

ஓ இருபிறப்பினருள் சிறந்தவர்களே, நீராடாமலும் உணவுண்ணாமலும் தெய்வவிதியால் சில காலம் கடந்தபின், தத்தம் கர்மத்தின்படி ஆயுள் முடிவுற்ற போது அவர்கள் இருவரும் தனித்தனியாக மரணத்தை (பஞ்சத்துவத்தை) அடைந்தனர்।

Word by Word

• vinā: without
• vinā: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vinā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपसर्गसदृश-निपातः/पूर्वपदप्रयोगः; अर्थे ‘वर्जने’ (without)

• snānena: by bathing / with bath
• snānena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: snāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया (करण) एकवचन; ‘स्नान’ = bathing

• bhakṣāt: from food (i.e., eating)
• bhakṣāt: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhakṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (अपादान) एकवचन; ‘भक्ष’ = food/eating

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

• daivāt: by fate / due to destiny
• daivāt: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daiva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; पञ्चमी (हेतु/अपादान) एकवचन; ‘दैव’ = fate/divine dispensation

• dvija-vara-uttamāḥ: the best of the excellent Brahmins
• dvija-vara-uttamāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + vara (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषसमासः (dvijānāṃ varaḥ, teṣāṃ uttamāḥ) = best among the excellent twice-born

• tataḥ: then / thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्ययप्रयोगः ‘अनन्तरम्/तस्मात्’ (then/thereafter)

• kāle: in time / when time
• kāle: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (अधिकरण) एकवचन; ‘काले’ = at the time

• vyatikrānte: having passed
• vyatikrānte: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi + ati + kram (धातु) → vyatikrānta (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); सप्तमी एकवचन नपुंसक/पुंलिङ्गे ‘काले’ इति विशेषणम्; अर्थः ‘अतीते/व्यतीते’ (having passed)

• kiyat-mātre: in a short while
• kiyat-mātre: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kiyat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (kiyat eva mātram) = in a small measure/after a short while

• sva-karmataḥ: due to their own deeds
• sva-karmataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sva (प्रातिपदिक) + karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (कर्मतः); तत्पुरुषसमासः (स्वं कर्म) + तः = according to/owing to one’s own action

• ubhau: both
• ubhau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ubha (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा द्विवचन; ‘उभौ’ = both

• paṃcatvam: death (becoming the five elements)
• paṃcatvam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: paṃcatva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचन; ‘पञ्चत्व’ = state of being five elements (death)

• āpannau: having reached
• āpannau: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ā + pad (धातु) → āpanna (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त); प्रथमा द्विवचन पुंलिङ्ग; ‘उभौ’ इति विशेषणम्; अर्थः ‘प्राप्तौ’ (having reached)

• pṛthaktvena: separately
• pṛthaktvena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pṛthaktva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; तृतीया एकवचन; भाववाचक; ‘पृथक्त्वेन’ = separately

• āyuṣaḥ: of life-span
• āyuṣaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: āyus (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; षष्ठी एकवचन; ‘आयुषः’ = of lifespan

• kṣaye: at the end
• kṣaye: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी एकवचन; ‘क्षये’ = at the end/decay

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narrative style; vocative to dvijas suggests narration to sages/brāhmaṇas)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-varottamāḥ (addressed audience of eminent brāhmaṇas)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Two individuals, weakened by fasting and lack of bathing, reach the end of life separately; the scene emphasizes the quiet inevitability of time and karma rather than violence.

Characters & Entities

• Karma
• Daiva
• Pañcatva

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even within sacred narratives, death is framed as karma-governed and time-bound; tīrtha-merit operates within the moral order (dharma) rather than denying mortality.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse belongs to a Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya episode about a potent tīrtha; the specific name is not present in this excerpt.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (bathing) and bhakṣa (taking food) are referenced negatively (‘without’), underscoring ascetic conditions around the episode rather than prescribing a rule here.