Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 4

Devanagari script

इदं न देयं दुर्बुद्धेः सुतरां पापनाशनम् । श्रोतव्यं विधिना तद्वद्भविष्योक्तविधानतः

Transliteration

idaṃ na deyaṃ durbuddheḥ sutarāṃ pāpanāśanam | śrotavyaṃ vidhinā tadvadbhaviṣyoktavidhānataḥ

Translation

Ceci ne doit pas être donné à l’esprit mauvais, car c’est un moyen suprême de détruire le péché. Il convient de l’entendre selon la juste manière, conformément à la règle prescrite telle qu’énoncée par la tradition faisant autorité.

Word by Word

• idam: this (teaching/text)
• idam: Karma (Thing concerned/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निषेध (negation particle)

• deyam: to be given
• deyam: Kriyā (Obligation/विधेय-क्रिया)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dā (धातु) + ya (कृदन्त: देय)
• Form: कृदन्त (gerundive: to be given), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• durbuddheḥ: of a foolish (person)
• durbuddheḥ: Sambandha (Genitive: of a foolish person)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dur (उपसर्ग) + buddhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष (bad-intellect), स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular)

• sutarām: very much; exceedingly
• sutarām: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Intensifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sutarām (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अतिशयार्थक क्रियाविशेषण (intensifying adverb)

• pāpa-nāśanam: sin-destroying
• pāpa-nāśanam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāpa (प्रातिपदिक) + nāśana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (destroyer of sin), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण

• śrotavyam: should be listened to
• śrotavyam: Kriyā (Obligation/विधेय-क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śru (धातु) + tavya (कृत्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: तव्यत्-कृदन्त (gerundive: to be heard), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• vidhinā: by proper rule; with due procedure
• vidhinā: Karaṇa (Instrument/Means/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vidhi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• tadvat: likewise; in that same way
• tadvat: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम) + vat (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, तुल्यताबोधक (in that manner/likewise)

• bhaviṣya-ukta-vidhānataḥ: according to the injunction stated in the Bhaviṣya (Purāṇa)
• bhaviṣya-ukta-vidhānataḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Source/standard)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhaviṣya (प्रातिपदिक) + ukta (कृदन्त) + vidhāna (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव (according to the procedure stated in the Bhaviṣya), अव्यय (ablatival adverb: -taḥ)

Speaker

Īśvara (Śiva) [deduced from section flow]

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa/Vastrāpatha māhātmya (as ‘supremely sin-destroying’ teaching)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Devī (Pārvatī)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sage pauses before teaching, gesturing that the doctrine is not for the malicious; earnest disciples sit purified; a symbolic door/veil separates the unfit from the teaching space.

Characters & Entities

• Dharma (vidhi)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Sacred teachings are powerful and should be transmitted responsibly—heard and shared according to dharmic eligibility and proper procedure.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate context is the Vastrāpatha/Prabhāsa tīrtha-cycle (Gaṅgeśvara māhātmya), though this verse emphasizes transmission rules rather than a single site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Śravaṇa with vidhi—listening in a prescribed manner—and restraint in teaching (not giving it to the unfit).