Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 68

Devanagari script

न तुल्या पादरजसा समा साऽधिशिरः कृता

Transliteration

na tulyā pādarajasā samā sā'dhiśiraḥ kṛtā

Translation

ಅವಳು ಪಾದರಜಕ್ಕೂ ಸಮಾನಳಲ್ಲ; ಆದರೂ ಸಮಳಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿ, ಶಿರಸ್ಸಿನ ಮೇಲೆ ಸ್ಥಾಪಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ।

Word by Word

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• तुल्या: equal
• तुल्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (विशेषण/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तुल्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; predicate adjective

• पादरजसा: with the dust of (his) feet
• पादरजसा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद (प्रातिपदिक) + रजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): ‘पादस्य रजः’; नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया, एकवचन

• समा: equal
• समा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (विशेषण/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; predicate adjective

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अधिशिरः: upon the head
• अधिशिरः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण) (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अधि (अव्यय/उपसर्ग) + शिरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमास; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः; ‘upon the head’ (adverbial)

• कृता: was made/placed
• कृता: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु) (कृदन्त-भूतकृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; used predicatively ‘was made/placed’

Speaker

Devī (continuing her rebuke)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An assembly scene where a revered figure’s foot-dust is contrasted with an honored yet unworthy person being ceremonially placed ‘above the head’, highlighting a moral paradox.

Characters & Entities

• pādarajas (dust of the feet)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Honor must align with worth and dharma; misplaced exaltation becomes a moral disorder and invites correction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching is embedded in the Prabhāsa-kṣetra māhātmya narrative setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it uses a devotional/social metaphor (pādarajas) to intensify a moral rebuke.