Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणस्य तुरीयांशो नश्यत्येव न संशयः । द्विदिनं सेवनात्स्पर्शाद्दर्शनाच्छयनात्तथा

Transliteration

brāhmaṇasya turīyāṃśo naśyatyeva na saṃśayaḥ | dvidinaṃ sevanātsparśāddarśanācchayanāttathā

Translation

Assurément, un quart de la dignité brāhmanique d’un brāhmaṇa se perd—sans aucun doute—par deux jours de fréquentation et de service (de tels gens), par le toucher, par la vue, et aussi par le fait de s’étendre (avec eux ou près d’eux).

Word by Word

• ब्राह्मणस्य: of a brāhmaṇa
• ब्राह्मणस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• तुरीयांशः: a fourth part
• तुरीयांशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तुरीय (प्रातिपदिक) + अंश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—तुरीयः अंशः (a fourth part)

• नश्यति: perishes
• नश्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• एव: certainly
• एव: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation)

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘न संशयः’ = ‘no doubt’ (idiom)

• द्विदिनम्: for two days
• द्विदिनम्: Kala-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः—द्वे दिने यस्य/द्विदिनपरिमाणम् (accusative of duration)

• सेवनात्: from/through service (association)
• सेवनात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (cause)

• स्पर्शात्: from touch
• स्पर्शात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्पर्श (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे

• दर्शनात्: from seeing
• दर्शनात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे

• शयनात्: from sleeping (together)
• शयनात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शयन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे

• तथा: likewise/also
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक/समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (adverb: ‘thus/likewise’)

Speaker

Sūta (context continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gautamī tīra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijottamāḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A four-panel visual sequence: (1) attendance/service to sinners, (2) accidental or deliberate touch, (3) lingering gaze/companionship, (4) shared sleeping space—each panel shows a quarter of the brāhmaṇa’s radiance extinguishing.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• Mahāpātaka context (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse stresses vigilance in purity and companionship: repeated contact with grave adharma steadily diminishes one’s dharmic power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dhanuṣkoṭi is the overall māhātmya setting; this verse explains the gravity of the prior impurity that the tīrtha later removes.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual act is prescribed; it outlines behavioral cautions (avoidance of service, touch, prolonged contact) as dharmic discipline.