Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 90

Devanagari script

ततो मे ज्ञानमापन्नमेवं विप्राः शनैःशनैः । अतीतानागतं चैव वर्तमानं विशेषतः

Transliteration

tato me jñānamāpannamevaṃ viprāḥ śanaiḥśanaiḥ | atītānāgataṃ caiva vartamānaṃ viśeṣataḥ

Translation

پھر، اے برہمنو! اسی طرح میرے اندر علم آہستہ آہستہ روشن ہوا—گزشتہ کا بھی، آنے والے کا بھی، اور خاص طور پر حال کا۔

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then/thereupon
• tataḥ: Adhikaraṇa (Temporal/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात्)
• Form: अव्यय (ततः = ‘thereupon/then’; adverb)

• me: my
• me: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (अस्मद्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (genitive)

• jñānam: knowledge
• jñānam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• āpannam: arose/was attained
• āpannam: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (आप्)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; ‘आ-√पद्/√आप्’ अर्थे ‘प्राप्त/उत्पन्न’

• evam: thus
• evam: Prakāra (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: evam (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of manner)

• viprāḥ: O brāhmaṇas
• viprāḥ: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; संबोधनार्थे प्रयुक्त (addressing)

• śanaiḥ-śanaiḥ: gradually, little by little
• śanaiḥ-śanaiḥ: Prakāra (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: śanaiḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: पुनरुक्त-अव्यय (reduplicated adverb)

• atīta-anāgatam: the past and the future
• atīta-anāgatam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: atīta (कृदन्त; √i (इ) क्त, ‘gone/past’) + anāgata (कृदन्त; √gam (गम्) क्त, ‘not yet come/future’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास (अतीतं च अनागतं च)

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

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• vartamānam: the present
• vartamānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vṛt (वृत्)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्यय), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन; ‘present (time)’

• viśeṣataḥ: especially
• viśeṣataḥ: Prakāra (Manner/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: viśeṣataḥ (अव्यय; viśeṣa-प्रातिपदिकात्)
• Form: अव्यय (विशेषतः = ‘especially’; adverb)

Speaker

Unnamed narrator (addressing brāhmaṇas); framed later by Sūta’s narration in this section

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: brāhmaṇas (viprāḥ)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A contemplative sage with a subtle aura of insight, seated with brāhmaṇas listening; behind him, symbolic panels of time—past (faded scenes), future (unformed mist), present (clear lamp).

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Steady discipline and detachment can mature into insight (jñāna) and heightened discernment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

A specific tīrtha is not identified in this verse; it describes spiritual fruition within a tīrtha-focused section.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it reports an inner attainment rather than prescribing a rite.