Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

लोहशंकुभिराकीर्णमाक्रमन्ति नराधमाः । क्रन्दमाना द्विजश्रेष्ठ उपानद्दानवर्जिताः

Transliteration

lohaśaṃkubhirākīrṇamākramanti narādhamāḥ | krandamānā dvijaśreṣṭha upānaddānavarjitāḥ

Translation

O bester der Brāhmaṇas, die niedrigsten der Menschen, laut klagend, werden gezwungen, über einen Boden zu schreiten, der mit eisernen Spitzen übersät ist—weil sie die Almosengabe von Schuhwerk verweigerten.

Word by Word

• लोह-शङ्कुभिः: with iron spikes
• लोह-शङ्कुभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोह (प्रातिपदिक) + शङ्कु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• आकीर्णम्: strewn/filled
• आकीर्णम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आकीर्ण (कृदन्त; आ+√कॄ/√कीर् धातु-आधारित ‘to scatter/fill’)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण—(अध्याहृत) ‘पथम्/भूमिम्’ इत्यस्य

• आक्रमन्ति: step on, tread
• आक्रमन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ+√क्रम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• नर-अधमाः: worst of men
• नर-अधमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक) + अधम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• क्रन्दमानाः: crying, wailing
• क्रन्दमानाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रन्दमान (कृदन्त; √क्रन्द् धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (present participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘नराधमाः’

• द्विज-श्रेष्ठ: O best of the twice-born
• द्विज-श्रेष्ठ: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• उपानत्-दान-वर्जिताः: deprived of footwear
• उपानत्-दान-वर्जिताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उपानत् (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक) + वर्जित (कृदन्त; √वृज्/√वर्ज् धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘नराधमाः’

Speaker

Unspecified (Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa narrative voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-śreṣṭha (addressed brāhmaṇa interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bleak path carpeted with iron spikes; barefoot sinners cry as they are driven forward—an inverse image of the comfort that a simple gift of sandals could have provided.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dāna is not optional ornament but dharma; refusing small, practical charity hardens the heart and yields painful karmic results.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where pilgrimage teaching includes the importance of dāna alongside devotion.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Upānad-dāna—giving footwear/sandals as charity (especially to travelers, pilgrims, and the needy).