Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 39
अष्टादशमिता नीचाः प्रकृतानां यथातथा । विधिनैव क्रिया नैव स्मृति मार्गोऽपि नैव च
aṣṭādaśamitā nīcāḥ prakṛtānāṃ yathātathā | vidhinaiva kriyā naiva smṛti mārgo'pi naiva ca
Die Niedriggeborenen, so heißt es, sind achtzehn an der Zahl, wie immer sie in der Gesellschaft anzutreffen sind. Für sie gibt es weder rituelles Handeln nach vorgeschriebener Ordnung noch auch nur den von der Smṛti gewiesenen Pfad.
Unspecified (Nāgarakhaṇḍa narrative voice)
Scene: A didactic assembly scene: a sage or narrator instructs pilgrims about dharma-eligibility and alternative duties; listeners include mixed social groups at a pilgrimage rest-house (maṭha/śālā) near a tīrtha.
FAQs
The verse reflects a traditional normative framework where ritual eligibility is linked to adherence to established dharma codes.
No tīrtha is mentioned in this verse.
It states an exclusion: no vidhic ritual action and no Smṛti-based path is acknowledged for the ‘nīca’ groups as defined here.