Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 60

Devanagari script

तस्य पूर्वकृतं पुण्यं भस्मीभवति नान्यथा । अन्येषां दीयते दानं स्वल्पं वा यदि वा बहु

Transliteration

tasya pūrvakṛtaṃ puṇyaṃ bhasmībhavati nānyathā | anyeṣāṃ dīyate dānaṃ svalpaṃ vā yadi vā bahu

Translation

Tout le mérite acquis jadis se réduit en cendres—il n’en est pas autrement. L’aumône qu’il offre, petite ou grande, est comptée comme donnée à d’autres (non à son crédit).

Word by Word

• तस्य: of him
• तस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन (सम्बन्ध)

• पूर्वकृतम्: done previously
• पूर्वकृतम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्व (प्रातिपदिक) + कृ (धातु) + कृत (कृदन्त)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (पूर्वं कृतम्), कृदन्त (क्त/PPP), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (to puṇyam)

• पुण्यम्: merit
• पुण्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• भस्मीभवति: turns to ashes, is destroyed
• भस्मीभवति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भस्मी-भू (धातु; नामधातु/denominative)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद; नामधातु: भस्मीभू = भस्म भवति

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निषेध-निपात)

• अन्यथा: otherwise
• अन्यथा: Kriya-viśeṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्यथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (प्रकारवाचक/ manner adverb)

• अन्येषाम्: of others
• अन्येषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), बहुवचन (सम्बन्ध)

• दीयते: is given
• दीयते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोग (Passive), आत्मनेपद

• दानम्: gift, charity
• दानम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन (कर्मणि-प्रयोगे कर्तृस्थानी/subject)

• स्वल्पम्: small
• स्वल्पम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (to dānam)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विकल्पार्थक-निपात)

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (शर्तार्थक/conditional particle)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (विकल्पार्थक-निपात)

• बहु: much, abundant
• बहु: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विशेषण (to dānam)

Speaker

Deductive attribution: a Purāṇic narrator/instructor within Dharmāraṇya Khaṇḍa (speaker not explicit in snippet)

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpasattama (best of kings)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Merit turning to ash: a symbolic fire consumes a ledger of past puṇya while the man offers gifts that drift away to ‘others,’ indicating phala-transfer or nullification.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Merit is not merely accumulated by acts; it is preserved by dharmic integrity—otherwise even charity can become fruitless.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No sacred geography is mentioned; the verse is a general karmic principle.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Dāna (charity) is referenced, with the warning that its fruit depends on righteous alignment.