Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

न फालकृष्टे भूभागे न रथ्यासेव्यभूतले । नालोकयेद्दिशो भागञ्ज्यो तिश्चक्रं नभो मलम्

Transliteration

na phālakṛṣṭe bhūbhāge na rathyāsevyabhūtale | nālokayeddiśo bhāgañjyo tiścakraṃ nabho malam

Translation

One should not relieve oneself on land freshly turned by the plough, nor on ground used as a roadway. Nor should one gaze toward the quarters, the circle of the luminaries, the sky, or impure things while doing so—thus preserving modesty and ritual discipline.

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• phāla-kṛṣṭe: in (a place) ploughed with a plough
• phāla-kṛṣṭe: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: phāla (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛṣṭa (कृ धातोः क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त)
• Form: सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular), नपुंसकलिङ्गे/पुंलिङ्गे विशेषणरूपे (agreeing with bhūbhāge)

• bhū-bhāge: on the ground/land-portion
• bhū-bhāge: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhū (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन

• na: nor/not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• rathyā-sevya-bhūtale: on ground frequented/used as a street
• rathyā-sevya-bhūtale: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rathyā (प्रातिपदिक) + sevya (सेव् धातोः यत्/ण्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त) + bhū-tala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (Locative/7th), एकवचन; समासः—(रथ्यायाः) सेव्यः भूतलः

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (sandhi in nālokayet)

• ālokayet: should look (at)
• ālokayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ā-√lok (लोक् धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपदम्

• diśaḥ: directions
• diśaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: diś (दिश् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd) बहुवचन (Plural) (कर्मरूपे)

• bhāgam: a portion/part
• bhāgam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• jyotiḥ-cakram: circle of lights (luminaries)
• jyotiḥ-cakram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jyotis (ज्योतिस् प्रातिपदिक) + cakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; समासः—ज्योतिषां चक्रम्

• nabhaḥ: sky
• nabhaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nabhas (नभस् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• malam: impurity/filth
• malam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

Speaker

Anonymous Purāṇic narrator (Dharmāraṇya instructional passage; speaker not explicit in the excerpt)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A restrained, didactic scene: a traveler/householder in a forest-edge or scrubland, avoiding ploughed furrows and a road, eyes lowered, with the sky and directions subtly indicated as sacred witnesses; emphasis on modest posture and dharmic discretion.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is upheld through mindful conduct and modesty; even bodily acts are regulated to protect purity and social order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named in this verse; it gives general dharma-śāstra style instructions within the Dharmāraṇya context.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Avoid certain locations (ploughed land, roadways) and avoid looking toward directions/sky/luminaries while relieving oneself.