Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 50

Devanagari script

विष्णुभक्ताय दातव्या शूद्रायापि द्विजन्मने । अभक्तायाप्यशुचये ब्रह्मस्थानं न कथ्यते

Transliteration

viṣṇubhaktāya dātavyā śūdrāyāpi dvijanmane | abhaktāyāpyaśucaye brahmasthānaṃ na kathyate

Translation

Cet enseignement ésotérique doit être donné au dévot de Viṣṇu—fût-il Śūdra—s’il est véritablement «deux fois né» par la discipline spirituelle. Mais à l’incrédule et à l’impur, on ne dévoile pas le suprême «siège de Brahman».

Word by Word

• viṣṇu-bhaktāya: to a devotee of Viṣṇu
• viṣṇu-bhaktāya: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक) + bhakta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4), एकवचन (Masculine, dative singular)

• dātavyā: should be given
• dātavyā: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dātavya (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √dā + तव्य)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम्/कर्तव्यता (Feminine, nominative singular; gerundive: 'should be given')

• śūdrāya: to a Śūdra
• śūdrāya: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūdra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4), एकवचन (Masculine, dative singular)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कार-अव्यय (particle: even/also)

• dvijanmane: to a twice-born (dvija)
• dvijanmane: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvijanman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4), एकवचन (Masculine, dative singular)

• abhaktāya: to the non-devotee
• abhaktāya: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: abhakta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (Masculine, dative singular; adjective)

• api: even
• api: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-कार-अव्यय (particle: even/also)

• aśucaye: to the impure
• aśucaye: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: aśuci (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी (4), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (Masculine, dative singular; adjective)

• brahma-sthānam: the Brahma-place (sacred seat/secret)
• brahma-sthānam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक) + sthāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन (Neuter, nom/acc singular)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negative particle)

• kathyate: is told
• kathyate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: kath (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपदम्; कर्मणि-प्रयोगः (Present, 3rd person singular, ātmanepada; passive: 'is told')

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya dialogic style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Brahmasthāna (as doctrinal locus, not explicitly mapped here)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A compassionate teacher offers a sealed ‘Brahma-sthāna’ teaching to a humble Viṣṇu-bhakta of low social status, while turning away an arrogant, impure skeptic; Viṣṇu’s emblem (śaṅkha-cakra) subtly present.

Characters & Entities

• Viṣṇu
• Brahman

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Spiritual secrets are transmitted by qualification—devotion and purity—rather than by mere social identity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse points to an ‘inner tīrtha’—the Brahma-sthāna within—within the broader Tīrthamāhātmya context rather than naming a single external site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A dhārmic rule of instruction (upadeśa): reveal the teaching to a qualified devotee; withhold it from the faithless/impure.