Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 67

Devanagari script

ततोहमब्रंवं विप्रान्यूयं मूर्खा भविष्यथ । धनधान्याल्पसंयुक्ता दारिद्र्यकलिलावृताः

Transliteration

tatohamabraṃvaṃ viprānyūyaṃ mūrkhā bhaviṣyatha | dhanadhānyālpasaṃyuktā dāridryakalilāvṛtāḥ

Translation

Dann sprach ich zu den Brahmanen: „Ihr werdet töricht werden, mit wenig Reichtum und wenig Korn versehen, und vom Schlamm der Armut umhüllt.“

Word by Word

• tataḥ: then
• tataḥ: Adhikarana (Context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय (क्रियाविशेषण) — ‘then’

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम (Nominative singular)

• abraṃvam: I said
• abraṃvam: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: brū (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist), परस्मैपद; उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन; रूपम् ‘अब्रवम्/अब्रवं’ (पाठभेद)

• viprān: to the brāhmaṇas
• viprān: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• yūyam: you (all)
• yūyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम (Nominative plural)

• mūrkhāḥ: foolish
• mūrkhāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mūrkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (yūyam)

• bhaviṣyatha: you will become
• bhaviṣyatha: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future/भविष्यत्), परस्मैपद; मध्यमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• dhanadhānya-alpa-saṃyuktāḥ: endowed with little wealth and grain
• dhanadhānya-alpa-saṃyuktāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dhana (प्रातिपदिक) + dhānya (प्रातिपदिक) + alpa (प्रातिपदिक) + saṃyukta (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (yūyam); समासः बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (‘धनधान्ययोः अल्पेन संयुक्ताः’); ‘saṃyukta’ = क्त (PPP)

• dāridrya-kalila-āvṛtāḥ: covered by the mire of poverty
• dāridrya-kalila-āvṛtāḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dāridrya (प्रातिपदिक) + kalila (प्रातिपदिक) + āvṛta (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा, बहुवचन; विशेषण (yūyam); तत्पुरुषः (‘दारिद्र्य-कलिलेन आवृताः’); āvṛta = क्त (PPP)

Speaker

First-person narrator (unnamed) addressing Brāhmaṇas in the episode

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brāhmaṇas (viprāḥ) addressed directly

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A heated moment: the narrator points or raises a hand in anger toward a group of brāhmaṇas; their faces show surprise or calm; the air feels charged, foreshadowing karmic recoil.

Characters & Entities

• Vipras (Brāhmaṇas)
• Dāridrya (poverty)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Adharma and misconduct—especially in sacred contexts—are portrayed as leading to loss of discernment and material decline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is mentioned in this verse; it continues the moral narrative surrounding ritual conduct.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual instruction; it is a warning (śāpa-like rebuke) tied to ethical failure in the broader episode.