Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

सप्तधा द्रव्यशुद्धिस्तु सोत्तमा मध्यमाऽधमा

Transliteration

saptadhā dravyaśuddhistu sottamā madhyamā'dhamā

Translation

La pureté des biens est, en vérité, septuple, et se distingue en supérieure, moyenne et inférieure.

Word by Word

• saptadhā: sevenfold
• saptadhā: Kriya-viseshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sapta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (in seven ways)

• dravya-śuddhiḥ: purification of wealth/property
• dravya-śuddhiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dravya (प्रातिपदिक) + śuddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (‘द्रव्यस्य शुद्धिः’)

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha (Discourse particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधसूचक निपात (particle)

• sā: that (purification)
• sā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• uttamā: best
• uttamā: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; गुणवाचक-विशेषण

• madhyamā: middling
• madhyamā: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: madhyama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; गुणवाचक-विशेषण

• adhamā: lowest
• adhamā: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adhama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; गुणवाचक-विशेषण

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking to the sages (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teaching tableau: three labeled trays—uttama, madhyama, adhama—each containing ritual items (ghee, grains, vessels) of differing purity; the priest explains the sevenfold dravya-śuddhi framework to a pilgrim patron.

Characters & Entities

• Śrāddha
• Dharma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The merit of rites depends on the ethical and ritual quality of the resources used.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, in whose māhātmya standards for pure offerings are detailed.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Evaluate the purity of substances used in rites through a graded classification (superior/middling/inferior), further detailed in the following verses.