Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 3

Devanagari script

द्विजस्य जायमानस्य ऋणानि त्रीणि संति हि । ऋषीणां देवतानां च पितॄणां च द्विजोत्तमाः

Transliteration

dvijasya jāyamānasya ṛṇāni trīṇi saṃti hi | ṛṣīṇāṃ devatānāṃ ca pitṝṇāṃ ca dvijottamāḥ

Translation

ഹേ ദ്വിജോത്തമന്മാരേ! ദ്വിജൻ ജനിക്കുന്ന നിമിഷം മുതൽ മൂന്നു ഋണങ്ങൾ ഉണ്ടാകുന്നു—ഋഷികളോടുള്ളത്, ദേവതകളോടുള്ളത്, പിതൃകളോടുള്ളത്.

Word by Word

• द्विजस्य: of a twice-born (Brahmin)
• द्विजस्य: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जायमानस्य: being born
• जायमानस्य: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of द्विजस्य)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jāyamāna (जन् धातु, शानच्-प्रत्यय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; वर्तमान कृदन्त ‘being born’

• ऋणानि: debts
• ऋणानि: Karta (कर्ता/Subject of सन्ति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• त्रीणि: three
• त्रीणि: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण of ऋणानि)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tri (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• सन्ति: are
• सन्ति: Kriya (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (अस् धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• हि: indeed, for
• हि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, निपात (emphatic particle)

• ऋषीणाम्: of sages
• ऋषीणाम्: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध; specifying the debts)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṛṣi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• देवतानाम्: of deities
• देवतानाम्: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: devatā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction)

• पितॄणाम्: of ancestors (fathers)
• पितॄणाम्: Sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/conjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चयार्थक (conjunction)

• द्विजोत्तमाः: O best of the twice-born
• द्विजोत्तमाः: Sambodhana/Address (सम्बोधनार्थ; vocative sense though nominative form used)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष ‘best among twice-born’ (address)

Speaker

Sūta (contextual)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Ṛṇamocana (contextual link)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvijottamāḥ / munīśvaras

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Didactic tableau: a newborn dvija symbolically accompanied by three guardians—Ṛṣi with Veda, Deva with sacrificial fire, and Pitṛ with śrāddha vessel—indicating innate obligations.

Characters & Entities

• Ṛṣis
• Devatās
• Pitṛs
• Dvija

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Human life is embedded in sacred reciprocity—one is born with obligations to sages, gods, and ancestors.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching supports the Ṛṇamocana tīrtha context in Setukhaṇḍa, though this verse itself defines the debts rather than naming a site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific rite here; it introduces the doctrinal basis for rites that repay the three debts.