Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

परस्वहरणं चौर्यं सर्वदा सर्वमानुषैः । चातुर्मास्ये विशेषेण ब्रह्मदेवस्ववर्जनम्

Transliteration

parasvaharaṇaṃ cauryaṃ sarvadā sarvamānuṣaiḥ | cāturmāsye viśeṣeṇa brahmadevasvavarjanam

Translation

Diebstahl—das Nehmen dessen, was anderen gehört—ist von allen Menschen jederzeit zu meiden. Und während der Cāturmāsya-Zeit insbesondere soll man sich davor hüten, Besitz der Brahmanen und der Götter (Tempel) zu veruntreuen.

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.