Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 17

Devanagari script

षण्ढो मलिम्लुचो दम्भी राजपै शुन्यवृत्तयः । सगोत्रायाश्च संभूतस्तथैकप्रवरासुतः

Transliteration

ṣaṇḍho malimluco dambhī rājapai śunyavṛttayaḥ | sagotrāyāśca saṃbhūtastathaikapravarāsutaḥ

Translation

षण्ढ, मलिम्लुच (पतित/बहिष्कृत), दंभी आणि राजपैशुन्यवृत्तीने उपजीविका करणारा यांस वर्ज्य करावे. तसेच सगोत्र स्त्रीपासून जन्मलेला व एकाच प्रवरातील संयोगातून उत्पन्न झालेला पुत्रही त्याज्य आहे.

Word by Word

• ṣaṇḍhaḥ: eunuch/impotent man
• ṣaṇḍhaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ṣaṇḍha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• malimlucaḥ: outcaste/impure person
• malimlucaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: malimluca (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• dambhī: hypocrite
• dambhī: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dambhin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘दम्भी’ इति प्रातिपदिक-रूप

• rāja-paiśunya-vṛttayaḥ: those whose livelihood is slandering (esp. in royal circles)
• rāja-paiśunya-vṛttayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāja (प्रातिपदिक) + paiśunya (प्रातिपदिक) + vṛtti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (राज्ञि/राजसु पैशुन्यं वृत्तिः येषाम्)

• sagotrāyāḥ: from a woman of the same gotra
• sagotrāyāḥ: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sa + gotrā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (Ablative), एकवचन; ‘सगोत्रा’ (=समगोत्रा) इति उपपद-तत्पुरुषः

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

• saṃbhūtaḥ: born/produced
• saṃbhūtaḥ: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam + bhū (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्यय-कृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘उत्पन्नः’

• tathā: likewise
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थ (likewise)

• eka-pravara-asutaḥ: son of a (family with) single pravara
• eka-pravara-asutaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक) + pravara (प्रातिपदिक) + asuta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (एकप्रवरस्य असुतः)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A śrāddha setting at a tīrtha: a householder with darbha and piṇḍas, a seated brāhmaṇa row; the officiant discreetly excludes unfit invitees to preserve pāṅkti-śuddhi.

Characters & Entities

• Śrāddha
• Gotra
• Pravara

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Śrāddha is framed as a lineage-conscious rite; integrity of conduct and accepted kinship norms are treated as safeguards for ritual order.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is referenced in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Eligibility restrictions for śrāddha participants, including conduct-based and genealogy-based exclusions.