Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

निजे वर्षशते पूर्णे वालुकारेणवो यथा । निजमानेन या श्रद्धा ब्रह्मज्ञानसमुद्भवा । तेषां चेन्मानुषाणां च तन्मुक्तिः स्यादसंशयम्

Transliteration

nije varṣaśate pūrṇe vālukāreṇavo yathā | nijamānena yā śraddhā brahmajñānasamudbhavā | teṣāṃ cenmānuṣāṇāṃ ca tanmuktiḥ syādasaṃśayam

Translation

Như những hạt cát (được tính) khi trọn đủ một trăm năm của chính mình, cũng vậy—theo thước đo của mỗi người—niềm tin phát sinh từ tri kiến về Brahman: nếu nơi con người cũng có được niềm tin ấy, thì sự giải thoát của họ sẽ thành tựu, không nghi ngờ.

Word by Word

• nije: in one’s own
• nije: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; ‘in one’s own’

• varṣa-śate: in (one’s) hundred years
• varṣa-śate: Adhikarana (Time-locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: varṣa + śata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (śataṃ varṣāṇām)

• pūrṇe: when completed/full
• pūrṇe: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pūrṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (varṣaśate)

• vālukā-reṇavaḥ: grains of sand
• vālukā-reṇavaḥ: Upamāna (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vālukā + reṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (vālukāyāḥ reṇavaḥ)

• yathā: as/just like
• yathā: Upamā (Comparison marker/उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: उपमानार्थक-अव्यय (comparative particle)

• nija-mānena: by one’s own measure/standard
• nija-mānena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nija + māna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (nijaṃ mānam)

• yā: which
• yā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक

• śraddhā: faith
• śraddhā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śraddhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन

• brahma-jñāna-samudbhavā: arising from knowledge of Brahman
• brahma-jñāna-samudbhavā: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: brahman + jñāna + samudbhavā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (brahmajñānasya samudbhavā)

• teṣām: of them
• teṣām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• cet: if
• cet: Hetu/Condition (Condition/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: cet (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्यय (conditional particle ‘if’)

• mānuṣāṇām: of humans
• mānuṣāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānuṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• tat-muktiḥ: that liberation
• tat-muktiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad + mukti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (tasya muktiḥ)

• syāt: would be/may be
• syāt: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• asaṃśayam: without doubt
• asaṃśayam: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: a + saṃśaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाववत् क्रियाविशेषण (adverbial accusative)

Speaker

Sūta

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Sages in the assembly (implied)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Sūta explains with a sand-grain simile: a human lifespan of a hundred years contrasted with countless grains; the focus shifts to a luminous heart-symbol representing śraddhā born of Brahman-knowledge.

Characters & Entities

• Brahman

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Liberation depends on śraddhā grounded in true knowledge, not on lifespan; the inner measure (nija-māna) is decisive.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Not specified in this verse; it functions as teaching within the Tīrthamāhātmya narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit rite is prescribed; the stress is on knowledge-born faith as the enabling condition for mokṣa.