Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणानां तथान्येषां तत्र स्थाने निवासिनाम् । तत्स्पर्शदूषितानां च प्राजापत्यं पृथक्पृथक्

Transliteration

brāhmaṇānāṃ tathānyeṣāṃ tatra sthāne nivāsinām | tatsparśadūṣitānāṃ ca prājāpatyaṃ pṛthakpṛthak

Translation

ആ സ്ഥലത്ത് വസിക്കുന്ന ബ്രാഹ്മണർക്കും മറ്റു ജനങ്ങൾക്കും, അതിന്റെ സ്പർശം മൂലം ദൂഷിതരായവർക്കും, ഓരോരുത്തർക്കും വേറേവേറെയായി പ്രാജാപത്യ പ്രായശ്ചിത്തം നിശ്ചയിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• ब्राह्मणानाम्: of Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• तथा: likewise/and also
• तथा: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकार/समुच्चयार्थ (adverb: likewise/also)

• अन्येषाम्: of others
• अन्येषाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb)

• स्थाने: in the place
• स्थाने: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्थान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• निवासिनाम्: of the residents
• निवासिनाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नि-वस् (धातु) + इन् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; ‘निवासिन्’ = resident

• तत्: of that
• तत्: Sambandha (Genitive/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; समासपूर्वपद (in compound)

• स्पर्श: by contact/touch
• स्पर्श: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्पर्श (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; समासपूर्वपद (in compound)

• दूषितानाम्: of the defiled (ones)
• दूषितानाम्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दूष् (धातु) + क्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle), पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; ‘defiled’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-अव्यय (conjunction)

• प्राजापत्यम्: the Prājāpatya penance
• प्राजापत्यम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राजापत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; प्रायश्चित्त-विशेषः

• पृथक्: separately
• पृथक्: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: separately)

• पृथक्: each separately
• पृथक्: Sambandha (Manner/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पृथक् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; पुनरुक्ति (emphatic repetition)

Speaker

Unspecified narrator

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: pārthiva (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A settlement near a sacred site: brāhmaṇas and townsfolk stand in separate groups; a ritual authority assigns penances individually; some people avoid touch, indicating sparśa-doṣa awareness.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purification is personal: each person bears responsibility for their own contact and participation, requiring individual expiation.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse remains within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya setting; no named tīrtha appears in this line.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Prājāpatya prāyaścitta, assigned individually (pṛthak-pṛthak) for residents and those defiled by contact.