Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

परस्वहरणं चौर्यं सर्वदा सर्वमानुषैः । चातुर्मास्ये विशेषेण ब्रह्मदेवस्ववर्जनम्

Transliteration

parasvaharaṇaṃ cauryaṃ sarvadā sarvamānuṣaiḥ | cāturmāsye viśeṣeṇa brahmadevasvavarjanam

Translation

السرقة—أخذ ما يملكه الغير—يجب أن يجتنبها جميع الناس في كل حين. وخلال فترة تشاتورماسيا خاصةً، ينبغي الامتناع عن اغتصاب أموال البراهمة وأموال الآلهة (المعابد).

Word by Word

• परस्वहरणम्: taking/stealing another’s property
• परस्वहरणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर-स्व-हरण (प्रातिपदिक; √हृ (धातु) + ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (परस्य स्वस्य हरणम्)

• चौर्यम्: theft
• चौर्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चौर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन

• सर्वदा: always
• सर्वदा: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वदा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

• सर्वमानुषैः: by all humans
• सर्वमानुषैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व-मानुष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (सर्वे मानुषाः)

• चातुर्मास्ये: in the four-month period (Cāturmāsya)
• चातुर्मास्ये: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चातुर्मास्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः (चत्वारि मासाः यस्मिन्)

• विशेषेण: especially
• विशेषेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; प्रकारवाचक-तृतीया (in a special manner)

• ब्रह्मदेवस्ववर्जनम्: abstaining from Brahma-deva’s property (i.e., avoiding appropriation)
• ब्रह्मदेवस्ववर्जनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्म-देव-स्व-वर्जन (प्रातिपदिक; √वृज्/√वर्ज् (धातु) + ल्युट्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (ब्रह्मदेवस्य स्वस्य वर्जनम्)

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; within Nāgarakhaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A temple treasury with a deity’s emblem; a pilgrim refuses a tempting unattended offering; a stern sage points to Cāturmāsya calendar while warning against devadravya theft.

Characters & Entities

• Cāturmāsya
• Brahmins
• Devas (temple deities)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Non-stealing is essential dharma, and sacred times like Cāturmāsya demand heightened integrity toward religious and temple property.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the verse gives general dharmic conduct relevant to pilgrimage and temple culture.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A strict avoidance of theft, especially abstaining from taking brahma-sva and deva-sva during Cāturmāsya.