Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

अनिंद्योऽयं महामूर्ख यज्ञः पैतामहो यतः । अर्चितः सर्वतः पुण्यं तत्किं निन्दसि दुर्मते

Transliteration

aniṃdyo'yaṃ mahāmūrkha yajñaḥ paitāmaho yataḥ | arcitaḥ sarvataḥ puṇyaṃ tatkiṃ nindasi durmate

Translation

अनिन्द्योऽयं महामूर्ख यज्ञः, यतः स पैतामहः। सर्वतः पुण्यरूपेण अर्चितोऽयं; तत् किं निन्दसि, हे दुर्मते?

Word by Word

• anindyaḥ: blameless
• anindyaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anindya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; निन्दनीय-विरुद्धार्थक (not blameworthy)

• ayam: this
• ayam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• mahāmūrkha: O great fool
• mahāmūrkha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā + mūrkha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (mahān mūrkhaḥ)

• yajñaḥ: sacrifice
• yajñaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajña (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• paitāmahaḥ: ancestral
• paitāmahaḥ: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: paitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; 'पितामहसम्बन्धी' (ancestral)

• yataḥ: because
• yataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतुवाचक-अव्यय (relative causal: 'because/whence')

• arcitaḥ: worshipped
• arcitaḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Predicate qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √arc (धातु)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोगार्थ (worshipped)

• sarvataḥ: everywhere/from all sides
• sarvataḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sarvataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: दिशावाचक/परिमाणवाचक-अव्यय (from all sides; everywhere)

• puṇyam: merit; holy (thing)
• puṇyam: Kriya-visheshana (Predicate complement)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṇya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; विधेय (predicate noun)

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचन; पूर्वोक्तपरामर्श (that)

• kim: why/what
• kim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक-सर्वनाम, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा, एकवचन

• nindasi: you blame
• nindasi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √nind (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), मध्यम-पुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• durmate: O evil-minded one
• durmate: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: durmati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारयार्थ (duṣṭā matiḥ yasya)

Speaker

Unspecified in snippet (likely a ritual authority addressing a detractor within the yajña narrative)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacrificial pavilion with vedi and ṛtviks; a confrontational figure is admonished by priests; Brahmā’s presence is implied through iconography (four-faced emblem, lotus) above the yajña; offerings and sacred fires glow.

Characters & Entities

• Yajña
• Pitāmaha (Brahmā)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma requires reverence for sanctioned sacred rites; reviling yajña is portrayed as wrong understanding that obstructs merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The shloka supports the sanctity of the yajña within the chapter’s tīrtha setting, but it does not name the tīrtha explicitly.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse implicitly prescribes non-censure and respectful participation in yajña, emphasizing its universal puṇya.