Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

युगानां कुरुते राज्यं मनवश्च तथा परे । स्वायंभुवप्रभृतयो यथा शक्रास्तथा स्थिताः

Transliteration

yugānāṃ kurute rājyaṃ manavaśca tathā pare | svāyaṃbhuvaprabhṛtayo yathā śakrāstathā sthitāḥ

Translation

யுகங்கள்தோறும் மனுக்களும் அரசாட்சி செய்கின்றனர்; பிறரும் அவ்வாறே. ஸ்வாயம்புவ முதலியோர் எவ்வாறு வரிசையாக நிலைபெற்றார்களோ, அதுபோலவே ஷக்ரர்கள் (இந்திரர்கள்) தத்தம் காலத்தில் நிறுவப்பட்டுள்ளனர்.

Word by Word

• युगानाम्: of the yugas
• युगानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/षष्ठी), बहुवचन

• कुरुते: administers/does
• कुरुते: Kriyā (Main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• राज्यम्: rule/sovereignty
• राज्यम्: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन

• मनवः: the Manus
• मनवः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• तथा: likewise
• तथा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/समुच्चयवाचक (adverb: likewise)

• परे: others/others too
• परे: Karta (Co-subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; विशेषण (used substantively)

• स्वायंभुवप्रभृतयः: those beginning with Svāyambhuva
• स्वायंभुवप्रभृतयः: Karta (Subject/appositive group)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वायंभुव-प्रभृति (स्वायंभुव + प्रभृति; प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (स्वायंभुवः प्रभृतिः येषाम् = beginning with Svāyambhuva)

• यथा: as
• यथा: Sambandha (Comparative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमान/तुल्यतावाचक (comparative particle: as)

• शक्राः: Indras
• शक्राः: Karta (Subject of implied clause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन

• तथा: so/likewise
• तथा: Sambandha (Correlative marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तद्वत्/एवम् (correlative: so)

• स्थिताः: are established/are in place
• स्थिताः: Karta-samānādhikaraṇa (Predicate of śakrāḥ / group)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थित (√स्था धातु; क्त-प्रत्यय, कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/प्रथमा), बहुवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (predicative)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; exact speaker not in snippet)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijāḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A procession of Manus beginning with Svāyambhuva, each holding a dharma-śāstra/palm-leaf, paralleled by successive Indras with vajra—two aligned columns showing orderly succession across yugas.

Characters & Entities

• Manu
• Svāyambhuva Manu
• Śakra (Indra)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Cosmic order (ṛta/dharma) operates through appointed rulers (Manus and Indras), reminding devotees that authority is stewardship under divine law.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it provides cosmological context within a tīrtha-glorifying chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the focus is the succession of Manus and Indras.