Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 49

Devanagari script

वरं कुर्याच्च तद्देवि न कुर्याद्वेदविकयम् । तीर्थे चैव विशेषेण महाक्षेत्रे तथैव च

Transliteration

varaṃ kuryācca taddevi na kuryādvedavikayam | tīrthe caiva viśeṣeṇa mahākṣetre tathaiva ca

Translation

Ô Déesse, s’il le faut, on peut accomplir d’autres actes moindres ; mais qu’on ne commette pas la vente du Véda, surtout dans un tīrtha, et de même dans un grand kṣetra sacré.

Word by Word

• वरम्: a boon, a choice (preferable act)
• वरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; accusative singular neuter

• कुर्यात्: should do
• कुर्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; optative 3rd sg

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• तत्: that
• तत्: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun used adjectivally

• देवि: O Goddess
• देवि: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन; vocative singular feminine

• न: not
• न: Pratishedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• कुर्यात्: should do
• कुर्यात्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; optative 3rd sg

• वेदविकयम्: sale of the Veda (selling Vedic knowledge/text)
• वेदविकयम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद + विकय (प्रातिपदिक); विकय = विक्रय (sale) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वेदस्य विकयः)

• तीर्थे: at/in a sacred ford (tīrtha)
• तीर्थे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; locative singular

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• एव: indeed, just
• एव: Avadharana (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• विशेषेण: especially
• विशेषेण: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; instrumental used adverbially (विशेषेण = especially)

• महाक्षेत्रे: in the great sacred region
• महाक्षेत्रे: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (महच्च तत् क्षेत्रम्)

• तथा: thus, likewise
• तथा: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• एव: indeed
• एव: Avadharana (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced; address to Devī appears within the narrative frame)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra (as exemplar)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (addressed as ‘devi’)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A speaker addresses Devī, laying down a bright-line rule: do not sell the Veda, especially in tīrthas and great sacred fields. The sacred landscape glows as a witness to the vow-like prohibition.

Characters & Entities

• Devī
• tīrtha
• mahākṣetra
• Veda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Holy places demand heightened integrity; monetizing the Veda is singled out as unacceptable, especially in sanctified geography.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra’s tīrtha setting is the implied context, with a broader rule for all tīrthas and mahākṣetras.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A prohibition: refrain from veda-vikraya, particularly while serving or residing in tīrthas/mahākṣetras.