Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 24

Devanagari script

लोहशंकुभिराकीर्णमाक्रमन्ति नराधमाः । क्रन्दमाना द्विजश्रेष्ठ उपानद्दानवर्जिताः

Transliteration

lohaśaṃkubhirākīrṇamākramanti narādhamāḥ | krandamānā dvijaśreṣṭha upānaddānavarjitāḥ

Translation

ഹേ ദ്വിജശ്രേഷ്ഠാ! ഇരുമ്പുമുളുകൾ നിറഞ്ഞ നിലത്ത് ചവിട്ടിപ്പോകാൻ നിർബന്ധിതരാകുന്ന നരാധമർ കരഞ്ഞുകൂവി വിലപിക്കുന്നു—കാരണം അവർ പാദുകാദാനം നിഷേധിച്ചിരുന്നു.

Word by Word

• लोह-शङ्कुभिः: with iron spikes
• लोह-शङ्कुभिः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोह (प्रातिपदिक) + शङ्कु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• आकीर्णम्: strewn/filled
• आकीर्णम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आकीर्ण (कृदन्त; आ+√कॄ/√कीर् धातु-आधारित ‘to scatter/fill’)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त; नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण—(अध्याहृत) ‘पथम्/भूमिम्’ इत्यस्य

• आक्रमन्ति: step on, tread
• आक्रमन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ+√क्रम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• नर-अधमाः: worst of men
• नर-अधमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक) + अधम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• क्रन्दमानाः: crying, wailing
• क्रन्दमानाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रन्दमान (कृदन्त; √क्रन्द् धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (present participle); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘नराधमाः’

• द्विज-श्रेष्ठ: O best of the twice-born
• द्विज-श्रेष्ठ: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + श्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• उपानत्-दान-वर्जिताः: deprived of footwear
• उपानत्-दान-वर्जिताः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उपानत् (प्रातिपदिक) + दान (प्रातिपदिक) + वर्जित (कृदन्त; √वृज्/√वर्ज् धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; विशेषण—‘नराधमाः’

Speaker

Unspecified (Prabhāsa Khaṇḍa narrative voice)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: dvija-śreṣṭha (addressed brāhmaṇa interlocutor)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A bleak path carpeted with iron spikes; barefoot sinners cry as they are driven forward—an inverse image of the comfort that a simple gift of sandals could have provided.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa-kṣetra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dāna is not optional ornament but dharma; refusing small, practical charity hardens the heart and yields painful karmic results.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa-kṣetra, where pilgrimage teaching includes the importance of dāna alongside devotion.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Upānad-dāna—giving footwear/sandals as charity (especially to travelers, pilgrims, and the needy).