Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणस्य तुरीयांशो नश्यत्येव न संशयः । द्विदिनं सेवनात्स्पर्शाद्दर्शनाच्छयनात्तथा

Transliteration

brāhmaṇasya turīyāṃśo naśyatyeva na saṃśayaḥ | dvidinaṃ sevanātsparśāddarśanācchayanāttathā

Translation

ബ്രാഹ്മണന്റെ ബ്രാഹ്മണ്യത്തിന്റെ നാലിലൊന്ന് നിശ്ചയമായും നശിക്കുന്നു—സംശയമില്ല—രണ്ടുദിവസം അവരുടെ സേവനം ചെയ്‌താൽ, സ്പർശിച്ചാൽ, ദർശിച്ചാൽ, കൂടാതെ അവരുടെ കൂടെ/സമീപത്ത് ശയിച്ചാൽ കൂടി.

Word by Word

• ब्राह्मणस्य: of a brāhmaṇa
• ब्राह्मणस्य: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• तुरीयांशः: a fourth part
• तुरीयांशः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तुरीय (प्रातिपदिक) + अंश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—तुरीयः अंशः (a fourth part)

• नश्यति: perishes
• नश्यति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• एव: certainly
• एव: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक अव्यय (emphatic particle)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation)

• संशयः: doubt
• संशयः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘न संशयः’ = ‘no doubt’ (idiom)

• द्विदिनम्: for two days
• द्विदिनम्: Kala-adhikarana (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + दिन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; द्विगु-समासः—द्वे दिने यस्य/द्विदिनपरिमाणम् (accusative of duration)

• सेवनात्: from/through service (association)
• सेवनात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (cause)

• स्पर्शात्: from touch
• स्पर्शात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्पर्श (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे

• दर्शनात्: from seeing
• दर्शनात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्शन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे

• शयनात्: from sleeping (together)
• शयनात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शयन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे

• तथा: likewise/also
• तथा: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रकारवाचक/समुच्चयार्थक अव्यय (adverb: ‘thus/likewise’)

Speaker

Sūta (context continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Gautamī tīra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijottamāḥ

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A four-panel visual sequence: (1) attendance/service to sinners, (2) accidental or deliberate touch, (3) lingering gaze/companionship, (4) shared sleeping space—each panel shows a quarter of the brāhmaṇa’s radiance extinguishing.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• Mahāpātaka context (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse stresses vigilance in purity and companionship: repeated contact with grave adharma steadily diminishes one’s dharmic power.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dhanuṣkoṭi is the overall māhātmya setting; this verse explains the gravity of the prior impurity that the tīrtha later removes.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct ritual act is prescribed; it outlines behavioral cautions (avoidance of service, touch, prolonged contact) as dharmic discipline.