Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 73

Devanagari script

ततः स कथयामास पूर्वदेहसमुद्भवम् । मलिम्लुचस्ततो नूनं शिवरात्रिसमुद्भवम्

Transliteration

tataḥ sa kathayāmāsa pūrvadehasamudbhavam | malimlucastato nūnaṃ śivarātrisamudbhavam

Translation

پھر اس نے اپنے سابقہ بدن سے پیدا ہونے والی بات سنائی—کہ یقیناً وہ ملِمْلُچ (اچھوت) حالت شِو راتری کے عمل سے وابستہ ہو کر پیدا ہوئی تھی۔

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.