Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

वाराणस्यां हि न त्यक्तश्चंडालस्य प्रतिग्रहः । स्नानहीनः सदा पापी रात्रौ चौर्य्येण वर्त्तते

Transliteration

vārāṇasyāṃ hi na tyaktaścaṃḍālasya pratigrahaḥ | snānahīnaḥ sadā pāpī rātrau cauryyeṇa varttate

Translation

À Vārāṇasī, en vérité, il ne renonça pas à recevoir des dons d’un Caṇḍāla. Privé de bain sacré, toujours pécheur, il vivait du vol la nuit.

Word by Word

• वाराणस्याम्: in Varanasi
• वाराणस्याम्: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाराणसी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; स्थानवाचक

• हि: indeed/for
• हि: Nipata (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात; हेत्वर्थ/निश्चयार्थ (indeed/for)

• न: not
• न: Nishedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation)

• त्यक्तः: given up
• त्यक्तः: Kriya (Predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्यज् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘abandoned/given up’

• चण्डालस्य: of a caṇḍāla
• चण्डालस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चण्डाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• प्रतिग्रहः: acceptance (of gifts)
• प्रतिग्रहः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रतिग्रह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘acceptance (of gifts)’

• स्नानहीनः: without bathing
• स्नानहीनः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्नान + हीन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘devoid of bathing’

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kala (Time/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नित्यत्ववाचक (always)

• पापी: a sinner
• पापी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पापिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; गुणवाचक संज्ञा (sinful person)

• रात्रौ: at night
• रात्रौ: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th), एकवचन; कालाधिकरण (at night)

• चौर्य्येण: by theft
• चौर्य्येण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चौर्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd), एकवचन; करण (by theft)

• वर्त्तते: engages in/behaves
• वर्त्तते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृत् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद; ‘exists/behaves/engages in’

Speaker

Sūta (deduced: Purāṇic narration within Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) / Gaṅgā-ghaṭa snāna (implied)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night in Vārāṇasī: ghats and river in the background; the man, unbathed, slips through alleys with stolen goods; a shadowy figure offers a ‘gift’ marked as impure; the Ganga glimmers as a silent witness.

Characters & Entities

• Vārāṇasī
• Kāśī
• Caṇḍāla

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Life without self-restraint and purification (snāna) tends toward continued pāpa; dharma requires purity, right livelihood, and discernment in receiving.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Vārāṇasī (Kāśī) is named, a foremost tīrtha in Purāṇic sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Snāna (holy bathing/purificatory bathing) is implied as a necessary discipline; absence of snāna is criticized.