Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 5

Devanagari script

शतवर्षसहस्राणां वसेदंते दिवि द्विजः । ब्राह्मणेभ्यः परं नास्ति पवित्रं पावनं भुवि

Transliteration

śatavarṣasahasrāṇāṃ vasedaṃte divi dvijaḥ | brāhmaṇebhyaḥ paraṃ nāsti pavitraṃ pāvanaṃ bhuvi

Translation

দ্বিজে দহ হাজাৰ হাজাৰ যুগ ধৰি স্বৰ্গত বাস কৰিব পাৰে; তথাপি পৃথিৱীত ব্ৰাহ্মণসকলতকৈ অধিক পবিত্ৰ আৰু পাৱন একো নাই।

Word by Word

• śata-varṣa-sahasrāṇām: of thousands of hundred-years
• śata-varṣa-sahasrāṇām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata (प्रातिपदिक) + varṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; संख्या-सम्बद्ध तत्पुरुष (thousands of hundred-years)

• vaset: should dwell
• vaset: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vas (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ante: at the end
• ante: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; ‘at the end’ (अन्ते)

• divi: in heaven
• divi: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: div (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• dvijaḥ: a twice-born (Brahmin)
• dvijaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• brāhmaṇebhyaḥ: than Brahmins / from Brahmins
• brāhmaṇebhyaḥ: Apādāna (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), बहुवचन

• param: higher/superior
• param: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (predicative)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha/Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• asti: is/exists
• asti: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• pavitram: a holy/pure thing
• pavitram: Karta/Predicate nominal (विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pavitra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; भाववाचक (as ‘purity/holy thing’)

• pāvanam: purifying
• pāvanam: Viśeṣaṇa (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāvana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; pavitram इति विशेषण

• bhuvi: on earth
• bhuvi: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhuvi/bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Skanda Purāṇa narrative context; exact speaker not in snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim offers water, food, and cloth to venerable Brāhmaṇas under forest shade near a tīrtha; a subtle svarga motif contrasts with earthly sanctity.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purity is not only ritual but also relational—honoring bearers of Vedic dharma is praised as supremely sanctifying.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader Dharmāraṇya tīrtha-setting frames the teaching, though this verse specifically glorifies Brāhmaṇas rather than naming a location.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Implicitly, reverence/service to Brāhmaṇas as a purifying dharmic act.