Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 36

Devanagari script

सम्यग्ज्ञानं प्रशंसंति केचिद्वैराग्यमुत्तमम् । अग्निष्टोमादिकर्माणि तथा केचित्परं विदुः

Transliteration

samyagjñānaṃ praśaṃsaṃti kecidvairāgyamuttamam | agniṣṭomādikarmāṇi tathā kecitparaṃ viduḥ

Translation

Manche preisen rechtes Wissen; manche preisen die höchste Leidenschaftslosigkeit (Vairāgya). Andere halten Rituale wie das Agniṣṭoma-Opfer und ähnliche Werke für das Höchste.

Word by Word

• सम्यक्: properly, rightly
• सम्यक्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: samyak (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb of manner)

• ज्ञानम्: knowledge
• ज्ञानम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• प्रशंसन्ति: praise
• प्रशंसन्ति: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√śaṃs (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद (3rd person plural, present, parasmaipada)

• केचित्: some (people)
• केचित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kecit (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग (Pronoun, Nominative plural, Masculine)

• वैराग्यम्: dispassion, detachment
• वैराग्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vairāgya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Singular)

• उत्तमम्: supreme, excellent
• उत्तमम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (Neuter, Accusative, Singular; adjective qualifying वैराग्यम्)

• अग्निष्टोमादि-कर्माणि: rites such as the Agniṣṭoma
• अग्निष्टोमादि-कर्माणि: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agniṣṭoma + ādi + karman (प्रातिपदिक); समास
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, बहुवचन (Neuter, Accusative, Plural); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/निर्देशात्मक: ‘अग्निष्टोम-आदि’ इति विशेषणपूर्वकं ‘कर्माणि’

• तथा: likewise, also
• तथा: Sambandha/Avyaya (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय/उपमानार्थ क्रियाविशेषण (indeclinable: ‘likewise/also’)

• केचित्: some (others)
• केचित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kecit (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; पुल्लिङ्ग (Pronoun, Nominative plural, Masculine)

• परम्: the highest, supreme
• परम्: Karma/Viśeṣaṇa (Object/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (Neuter, Accusative, Singular; used predicatively with implied ‘(एतत्)’/or qualifying object understood)

• विदुः: know, consider
• विदुः: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vid (धातु)
• Form: लिट्-लकार (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद (3rd person plural, perfect, parasmaipada)

Speaker

Narrative voice (context not explicit in snippet; likely Sūta/Lomaharṣaṇa per Māheśvarakhaṇḍa convention)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Śaunaka and other ṛṣis (frame typical)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A small assembly of seekers debating: one holds a jñāna-śāstra palm-leaf, another sits in austere vairāgya, a third gestures toward a yajña-vedi with Agni flames—three paths juxtaposed.

Characters & Entities

• Agniṣṭoma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It contrasts three commonly claimed ‘highest’ means—knowledge, detachment, and Vedic ritual—setting up the text’s resolution about the true supreme practice.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Agniṣṭoma and related Vedic rites are mentioned as examples of karmakāṇḍa practices, without prescribing a specific performance here.