Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

दशसूनासहस्रेण तुल्यो राजप्रतिग्रहः । कस्तस्य प्रतिगृह्णाति लोभाढ्यो ब्राह्मणो यथा

Transliteration

daśasūnāsahasreṇa tulyo rājapratigrahaḥ | kastasya pratigṛhṇāti lobhāḍhyo brāhmaṇo yathā

Translation

Eine königliche Gabe (rāja-pratigraha) ist dem Verdienst von zehntausend Schlächtern gleich. Wer würde solch eine Gabe annehmen—außer ein von Gier geschwollener Brāhmaṇa?

Word by Word

• daśa-sūnā-sahasreṇa: with a thousand (of) ten-slaughterhouse (measure)
• daśa-sūnā-sahasreṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daśa (अव्यय/संख्या) + sūnā (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः = ‘with/by a thousand (sets) of ten slaughterhouses’ (instrumental of comparison)

• tulyaḥ: equal
• tulyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective/विधेयविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tulya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विधेयविशेषणम् of ‘rājapratigrahaḥ’

• rāja-pratigrahaḥ: royal gift-acceptance
• rāja-pratigrahaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक) + pratigraha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः = ‘acceptance (of gifts) from a king / royal acceptance’

• kaḥ: who
• kaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; interrogative ‘who?’

• tasya: of that
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; ‘of that/its’

• pratigṛhṇāti: accepts
• pratigṛhṇāti: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prati+grah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘accepts’

• lobha-āḍhyaḥ: greed-rich (greedy)
• lobha-āḍhyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: lobha (प्रातिपदिक) + āḍhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः = ‘rich in greed/greed-filled’; विशेषणम् of ‘brāhmaṇaḥ’

• brāhmaṇaḥ: a Brahmin
• brāhmaṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; subject of ‘pratigṛhṇāti’

• yathā: as/like
• yathā: Upamāna (Comparison marker/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपमान/समुच्चय) = ‘as/like’

Speaker

Ṛṣis (implied continuation of the sages’ speech)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Elder sage points to an immense, shadowy mass symbolizing the karmic weight of royal gifts; a greedy brāhmaṇa figure is shown tempted, contrasted with a discerning brāhmaṇa stepping back.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• King (rāja)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Gifts are not spiritually neutral; accepting tainted wealth out of greed leads to heavy karmic burden.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is praised in this verse; it serves as a dharma-warning within the tīrtha narrative arc.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A prohibition in principle: avoid accepting royal gifts when they are spiritually dangerous.