Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 13

Devanagari script

तत्र षोडशसाहस्रं बालत्वं जायते नृणाम् । ततश्च यौवनं प्रोक्तं द्वात्रिंशद्यावदेव हि

Transliteration

tatra ṣoḍaśasāhasraṃ bālatvaṃ jāyate nṛṇām | tataśca yauvanaṃ proktaṃ dvātriṃśadyāvadeva hi

Translation

وہاں انسانوں کی بچپن کی مدت سولہ ہزار برس تک رہتی ہے۔ اس کے بعد جوانی کا زمانہ بتیس ہزار برس تک بتایا گیا ہے۔

Word by Word

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण

• ṣoḍaśa-sāhasram: sixteen thousand (years)
• ṣoḍaśa-sāhasram: Karma (Object/Extent)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣoḍaśa + sāhasra (प्रातिपदिक; षोडश + साहस्र)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; संख्यावाचक-समास; कालपरिमाणार्थे (as measure of years)

• bālatvam: childhood
• bālatvam: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bālatva (प्रातिपदिक; -त्व प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• jāyate: arises; is born
• jāyate: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: jan (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; भावे/कर्मणि प्रयोगः—'is born/arises'

• nṛṇām: of men; of humans
• nṛṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• tataḥ: then; thereafter
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Sequence)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तस्मात्-अर्थे (ablative adverb: 'then/from that')

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयबोधक

• yauvanam: youth
• yauvanam: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yauvana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• proktam: is said; is declared
• proktam: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa / Predicate
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle)

• dvātriṃśat: thirty-two
• dvātriṃśat: Karma (Measure)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvātriṃśat (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (संख्याशब्दः), प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; संख्यावाचक (32)

• yāvat: up to; as long as
• yāvat: Sambandha (Limit)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yāvat (अव्यय/सम्बन्ध)
• Form: अव्यय; परिमाण-सीमाबोधक (up to/as far as)

• eva: indeed; just
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphasis)

• hi: indeed; for
• hi: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थ निपात (particle: for/indeed)

Speaker

Bṛhaspati

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic depiction of time in the sacred land: children and youths with serene faces, growing slowly under auspicious trees; a calendrical or cosmic motif (sun-moon) indicating expanded lifespan.

Characters & Entities

• Bṛhaspati

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇas portray yuga-differences not only in morality but also in the scale of human lifespan and vitality.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; it is a yuga-description rather than a site-specific tīrtha praise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it provides a descriptive measure of life stages.