Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणानां तथान्येषां तत्र स्थाने निवासिनाम् । तत्स्पर्शदूषितानां च प्राजापत्यं पृथक्पृथक्

Transliteration

brāhmaṇānāṃ tathānyeṣāṃ tatra sthāne nivāsinām | tatsparśadūṣitānāṃ ca prājāpatyaṃ pṛthakpṛthak

Translation

Pour les brāhmaṇas et pour les autres habitants de ce lieu, et aussi pour ceux souillés par le contact avec cela, une pénitence Prājāpatya distincte fut prescrite à chacun.

Word by Word

• ब्राह्मणानाम्: of Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• तथा: likewise/and also
• तथा: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/समुच्चयार्थ (adverb: likewise/also)

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

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• स्थाने: in the place
• स्थाने: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• निवासिनाम्: of the residents
• निवासिनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नि-वस् (धातु) + इन् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; ‘निवासिन्’ = resident

• तत्: of that
• तत्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; समासपूर्वपद (in compound)

• स्पर्श: by contact/touch
• स्पर्श: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्पर्श (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; समासपूर्वपद (in compound)

• दूषितानाम्: of the defiled (ones)
• दूषितानाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दूष् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; ‘defiled’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• प्राजापत्यम्: the Prājāpatya penance
• प्राजापत्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राजापत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; प्रायश्चित्त-विशेषः

• पृथक्: separately
• पृथक्: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: separately)

• पृथक्: each separately
• पृथक्: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरुक्ति (emphatic repetition)

Speaker

Unspecified narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: pārthiva (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A settlement near a sacred site: brāhmaṇas and townsfolk stand in separate groups; a ritual authority assigns penances individually; some people avoid touch, indicating sparśa-doṣa awareness.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purification is personal: each person bears responsibility for their own contact and participation, requiring individual expiation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse remains within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya setting; no named tīrtha appears in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Prājāpatya prāyaścitta, assigned individually (pṛthak-pṛthak) for residents and those defiled by contact.