Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 97

Devanagari script

न च वाक्यं हि वृद्धानामुल्लं घयति पुण्यकृत् । न भूमिहरणं तत्र परनारीपराङ्मुखाः

Transliteration

na ca vākyaṃ hi vṛddhānāmullaṃ ghayati puṇyakṛt | na bhūmiharaṇaṃ tatra paranārīparāṅmukhāḥ

Translation

Nul homme vertueux ne transgressait les paroles des anciens. Là, il n’y avait point de spoliation des terres, et chacun détournait son regard des épouses d’autrui.

Word by Word

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

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयार्थक-अव्यय

• vākyam: word, instruction
• vākyam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vākya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतुवाचक/निश्चयार्थक-अव्यय (particle: indeed/for)

• vṛddhānām: of the elders
• vṛddhānām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛddha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन

• ullaṅghayati: transgresses, oversteps
• ullaṅghayati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ud + laṅgh (लङ्घ् धातु)
• Form: लट्, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपदम्; उपसर्गः ‘उद्’

• puṇyakṛt: a doer of merit, virtuous person
• puṇyakṛt: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛt (कृ धातु, कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः/कृदन्तः (पुण्यं करोति इति)

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

• bhūmi-haraṇam: seizure of land
• bhūmi-haraṇam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक) + haraṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (भूमेः हरणम्)

• tatra: there
• tatra: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tatra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय

• para-nārī-parāṅmukhāḥ: turned away from others' women
• para-nārī-parāṅmukhāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक) + nārī (प्रातिपदिक) + parāṅmukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; बहुपद-तत्पुरुषः (परनारीषु पराङ्मुखाः)

Speaker

Narrator (sectional voice; likely a Purāṇic narrator addressing a king)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: narādhipa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Elders seated in council giving guidance; younger people listening with folded hands; boundary stones and fields left untouched (no land-grab); men and women walking with modest gaze averted from others’ spouses—visualizing restraint and justice.

Characters & Entities

• Elders (Vृद्ध)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is preserved through humility before elders, honesty in property, and restraint in desire.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is named; the verse supports the Mahātmya-style praise of dharmic life.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it highlights ethical restraints (not transgressing elders, not seizing land, avoiding para-strī).