Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

वसिष्ठ उवाच । नाहं क्षत्रियसंजातं ब्राह्मणं वच्मि पद्मज । न वधे मम शक्तोऽयं कथंचित्क्षत्रियोद्भवः

Transliteration

vasiṣṭha uvāca | nāhaṃ kṣatriyasaṃjātaṃ brāhmaṇaṃ vacmi padmaja | na vadhe mama śakto'yaṃ kathaṃcitkṣatriyodbhavaḥ

Translation

Vasiṣṭha sprach: „O Lotosgeborener, ich nenne einen als Kṣatriya Geborenen nicht einen Brahmanen. Dieser als Kṣatriya geborene Mann ist keineswegs fähig, mich zu töten.“

Word by Word

• वसिष्ठः: Vasiṣṭha
• वसिष्ठः: Karta (Speaker/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसिष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negation particle)

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• क्षत्रियसंजातम्: born of a kṣatriya
• क्षत्रियसंजातम्: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षत्रिय (प्रातिपदिक) + संजात (कृदन्त; √जन्)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifying ब्राह्मणम्); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (क्षत्रियस्य संजातः)

• ब्राह्मणम्: (as) a brāhmaṇa
• ब्राह्मणम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• वच्मि: I say, I call
• वच्मि: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन

• पद्मज: O lotus-born (Brahmā)
• पद्मज: Sambodhana (Vocative/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद्मज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• वधे: in killing, in the matter of slaying
• वधे: Adhikaraṇa (Locative context/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• मम: my
• मम: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• शक्तः: able, capable
• शक्तः: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शक्त (कृदन्त; √शक्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle) used adjectivally

• अयम्: this (one)
• अयम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• कथंचित्: in any way, somehow
• कथंचित्: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथंचित् (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: 'somehow/at all')

• क्षत्रियोद्भवः: one born from a kṣatriya
• क्षत्रियोद्भवः: Apposition (Predicate noun/विशेष्य-विशेषणभाव)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्रिय (प्रातिपदिक) + उद्भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (क्षत्रियात् उद्भवः)

Speaker

Vasiṣṭha

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Brahmā

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Vasiṣṭha, serene yet unyielding, addresses Brahmā: he refuses to label a kṣatriya-born man a brāhmaṇa and declares his own invulnerability to Viśvāmitra’s violence.

Characters & Entities

• Vasiṣṭha
• Brahmā (Padmaja)
• Viśvāmitra (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual authority (brāhma-tejas) is rooted in dharma and realization, not merely in birth-status or martial power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The passage occurs within the Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra māhātmya setting (Nāgara-khaṇḍa, Tīrtha-māhātmya), with the Sarasvatī riverbank as the scene in the surrounding verses.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual instruction appears in this verse; it focuses on dharmic status and spiritual potency.