Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

धर्मकामं हि मनुजं यो वारयति मंदधीः । तदाश्रितस्य जगतो निःश्वासैर्भस्मसाद्भवेत्

Transliteration

dharmakāmaṃ hi manujaṃ yo vārayati maṃdadhīḥ | tadāśritasya jagato niḥśvāsairbhasmasādbhavet

Translation

“ധർമ്മം ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്ന മനുഷ്യനെ തടയുന്ന മന്ദബുദ്ധി, തന്റെ ആശ്രിതമായ ലോകത്തെ തന്റെ നിശ്വാസങ്ങളാൽ തന്നെ ഭസ്മമാക്കുന്നത്ര പാപഫലം അനുഭവിക്കട്ടെ.”

Word by Word

• dharma-kāmam: desiring dharma
• dharma-kāmam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dharma (धर्म) + kāma (काम) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषार्थे (धर्मं कामयते/धर्मकामः)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha-bodhaka (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात; हेतौ/खलु-अर्थे)

• manujam: a man
• manujam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manuja (मनुज) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद्) (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (who)

• vārayati: restrains
• vārayati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vṛ (वृ) (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिच् (causative) ‘to restrain/stop’

• manda-dhīḥ: a dull-witted person
• manda-dhīḥ: Karta (Subject apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manda (मन्द) + dhī (धी) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (मन्दा धीः यस्य)

• tad-āśritasya: of that which depends on him
• tad-āśritasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (तद्) + āśrita (आश्रित) (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (तस्मिन् आश्रितः)

• jagataḥ: of the world
• jagataḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (जगत्) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन

• niḥśvāsaiḥ: by (his) breaths
• niḥśvāsaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niḥśvāsa (निःश्वास) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• bhasma-sāt: to ashes
• bhasma-sāt: Gati (Result/गति-फल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhasman (भस्मन्) + sāt (सात्) (अव्ययीभाव-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्ययवत् प्रयोग (to ashes/into ash-state)

• bhavet: would become
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू) (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (सम्भावना/विधान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Arjuna

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Arjuna speaks with blazing conviction; behind him, a symbolic vision: a world sustained by a pillar of breath (prāṇa), threatened by ash—illustrating the cosmic stakes of hindering dharma.

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Obstructing a sincere Dharma-seeker is portrayed as a grave moral fault with far-reaching consequences.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single site is named in this verse; it supports the broader tīrtha-yātrā ethos that unfolds immediately afterward.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it is a moral injunction emphasizing non-obstruction of Dharma-oriented action.