Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

अधोवक्त्रेण भोक्तव्यं सदा विप्र गृहे मम । यदि पश्यसि मे भार्यां संप्राप्स्यसि विडंबनाम्

Transliteration

adhovaktreṇa bhoktavyaṃ sadā vipra gṛhe mama | yadi paśyasi me bhāryāṃ saṃprāpsyasi viḍaṃbanām

Translation

Ô brāhmaṇa, dans ma maison, tu dois toujours manger le visage tourné vers le bas. Si tu regardes mon épouse, tu subiras l'humiliation.

Word by Word

• adho-vaktreṇa: with the face turned downward
• adho-vaktreṇa: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: adhas (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + vaktra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषार्थः ‘adhomukha-vaktra’ = ‘downward face’; तृतीया साधन

• bhoktavyam: (it) must be eaten / one should eat
• bhoktavyam: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhuj (धातु) + तव्यत् → bhoktavya (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त विधेय (gerundive: ‘to be eaten/one should eat’)—अत्र विधिलिङ्गार्थः

• sadā: always
• sadā: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb: always)

• vipra: O brāhmaṇa
• vipra: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, संबोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• gṛhe: in the house
• gṛhe: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• mama: of me, my
• mama: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• yadi: if
• yadi: Sambandha (Condition/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्यय (conditional conjunction: if)

• paśyasi: you see
• paśyasi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √paś (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• me: my
• me: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (enclitic)

• bhāryām: wife
• bhāryām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhāryā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• saṃprāpsyasi: you will incur/attain
• saṃprāpsyasi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam√prāp (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (Simple Future), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• viḍaṃbanām: mockery, humiliation
• viḍaṃbanām: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viḍaṃbanā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

Speaker

Maṇibhadra (inferred from continuation where Maṇibhadra speaks explicitly in 35; this is his instruction)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A stern householder issues a command to a brāhmaṇa seated for a meal: ‘eat with face down’; the brāhmaṇa’s posture is forced and uneasy; a veiled woman is glimpsed in the background, and the atmosphere is tense.

Characters & Entities

• Maṇibhadra
• Brāhmaṇa (vipra)
• Maṇibhadra’s wife (bhāryā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse frames hospitality alongside strict boundaries, warning against impropriety and the loss of honor.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The setting belongs to Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s tīrtha narrative; this line itself emphasizes conduct rather than naming the tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A behavioral rule during dining in the host’s house—eat with face lowered; avoid looking at the host’s wife.