Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

अपूपश्च हिरण्यं च गामश्वं पृथिवीं तिलान् । अविद्वान्प्रतिगृह्णाति भस्मीभवति काष्ठवत्

Transliteration

apūpaśca hiraṇyaṃ ca gāmaśvaṃ pṛthivīṃ tilān | avidvānpratigṛhṇāti bhasmībhavati kāṣṭhavat

Translation

Si un homme ignorant reçoit en don des gâteaux, de l’or, des vaches, des chevaux, de la terre ou du sésame, il est réduit en cendres comme un morceau de bois.

Word by Word

• अपूपः: cake, sacrificial cake
• अपूपः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अपूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सूचीकरणे (enumeration)

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

• हिरण्यम्: gold
• हिरण्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिरण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

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

• गाम्: a cow
• गाम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• अश्वम्: a horse
• अश्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• पृथिवीम्: land, earth
• पृथिवीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• तिलान्: sesame seeds
• तिलान्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), बहुवचन

• अविद्वान्: an ignorant man
• अविद्वान्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अविद्वस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; नञ्-समास/नकारार्थ (one who is not learned)

• प्रतिगृह्णाति: accepts (as a gift)
• प्रतिगृह्णाति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति-ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• भस्मीभवति: turns to ash
• भस्मीभवति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भस्मी-भू (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; नामधातु (denominative) ‘to become ash’

• काष्ठवत्: like wood
• काष्ठवत्: Kriya-Visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: काष्ठ + वत् (प्रातिपदिक/तद्धित)
• Form: उपमानवाचक-अव्यय (simile adverb: ‘like/as’)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) speaking in the Prabhāsa-kṣetra narrative context

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A ritual gifting scene: a donor offers cakes, gold, cow, horse, land deed, and sesame; the unqualified recipient is shown metaphorically turning to ash like dry wood—an allegorical overlay rather than literal violence.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dāna is sacred and must be received only by the qualified; unfitness and greed in receiving gifts destroys spiritual merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, presented as a place where dharma is taught in practical detail.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Guidance on pratigraha (accepting gifts): valuable ritual gifts—food, gold, cattle, horses, land, sesame—should not be accepted by the unqualified.