Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 80

Devanagari script

अग्रं धर्मस्य राजानो मूलं धर्मस्य ब्राह्मणाः । तस्मान्मूलं न हिंसीत मूले ह्यग्रं प्रतिष्ठितम्

Transliteration

agraṃ dharmasya rājāno mūlaṃ dharmasya brāhmaṇāḥ | tasmānmūlaṃ na hiṃsīta mūle hyagraṃ pratiṣṭhitam

Translation

Kings are the foremost visible face of dharma, but Brāhmaṇas are dharma’s root. Therefore one should not harm the root, for upon the root the foremost part is established.

Word by Word

• agram: the tip, forefront
• agram: Karma/Predicative (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• dharmasya: of dharma
• dharmasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• rājānaḥ: kings
• rājānaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• mūlam: the root
• mūlam: Karma/Predicative (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• dharmasya: of dharma
• dharmasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• brāhmaṇāḥ: Brahmins
• brāhmaṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu/Apādāna (Reason/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; “therefore/from that”

• mūlam: the root
• mūlam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• na: do not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation)

• hiṃsīta: should harm
• hiṃsīta: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: hiṃs (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• mūle: in the root
• mūle: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mūla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• hi: for/indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Reason marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतुवाचक/निश्चयार्थक-निपात (particle)

• agram: the tip
• agram: Karta/Predicative (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• pratiṣṭhitam: is established
• pratiṣṭhitam: Kriya (Predicative participle)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prati + sthā (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (Past passive participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; “is established”

Speaker

Unknown (contextual narrator within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya; likely Sūta relating the teaching)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic tableau: a flourishing tree labeled ‘Dharma’; its crown bears a king’s insignia, while the roots are brāhmaṇas chanting; a warning motif shows an axe near the roots with a ‘do not harm’ gesture.

Characters & Entities

• Rājā (king)
• Brāhmaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Social order and dharma stand firm when the spiritual root—represented by Brāhmaṇas and sacred learning—is protected.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Within Prabhāsakṣetra Māhātmya, the verse teaches the dharma that sustains the sanctity of the Prabhāsa tirtha-region.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Not a ritual, but a rāja-dharma directive: do not harm Brāhmaṇas; protect the foundations of dharma.