Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 112

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणानां कुले जातो जातिमात्रो यदा भवेत् । अनुपेतः क्रियाहीनो मात्र इत्यभिधीयते

Transliteration

brāhmaṇānāṃ kule jāto jātimātro yadā bhavet | anupetaḥ kriyāhīno mātra ityabhidhīyate

Translation

Celui qui naît dans une lignée de brāhmaṇa mais n’est brāhmaṇa que par la naissance—sans upanayana et privé des devoirs prescrits—est appelé « mātra », brāhmaṇa de simple origine.

Word by Word

• brāhmaṇānām: of Brahmins
• brāhmaṇānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• kule: in a family
• kule: Adhikaraṇa (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• jātaḥ: born
• jātaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √jan (धातु) ; जात (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्तः (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्तरि—‘born’

• jātimātraḥ: only by birth (a Brahmin)
• jātimātraḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jāti (प्रातिपदिक) + mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः तत्पुरुषः/कर्मधारय (जात्या मात्रः = ‘only by birth’)

• yadā: when
• yadā: Sambandha (Temporal)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (temporal adverb: when)

• bhavet: should be/becomes
• bhavet: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ्-लकार (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• anupetaḥ: uninitiated (without upanayana)
• anupetaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anu + √i (धातु) ; अनुपेत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्तः (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; नञ्-भावः—‘not initiated/without upanayana’

• kriyāhīnaḥ: devoid of rites
• kriyāhīnaḥ: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kriyā (प्रातिपदिक) + hīna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; समासः तृतीया/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष-प्रायः (क्रियाभिः हीनः / क्रियायाः हीनः)

• mātraḥ: ‘mātra’
• mātraḥ: Karta (Predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mātra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उद्धरण/इति-निपात (quotative particle)

• abhidhīyate: is called
• abhidhīyate: Kriya (Action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi + √dhā (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगः (passive)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), contextually within Māheśvarakhaṇḍa narration to the sages

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: vipra (interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A young man wearing no sacred thread stands before a ritual fire that is unlit; beside him a guru offers the yajñopavīta and a ladle, indicating initiation and duty; a shadow labeled 'jāti-mātra' fades as he accepts discipline.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Birth alone is not the full measure; initiation and lived dharma are essential to religious identity and merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is mentioned; the focus is on dharma qualifications.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Upanayana (initiation) is implicitly referenced as a key rite whose absence marks deficiency.