Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

पूयं चिकित्सकस्यान्नं पुंश्चल्याश्चान्नमिन्द्रियम् । विष्ठा वार्धुषिकस्यान्नं शस्त्रविक्रयिणो मलम्

Transliteration

pūyaṃ cikitsakasyānnaṃ puṃścalyāścānnamindriyam | viṣṭhā vārdhuṣikasyānnaṃ śastravikrayiṇo malam

Translation

மருத்துவரின் அன்னம் புழுவைப் போன்றது; வेश्यையின் அன்னம் இந்திரிய வீழ்ச்சியைப் போன்றது. வட்டிக்காரனின் அன்னம் மலத்தைப் போன்றது; ஆயுத விற்பவரின் அன்னம் அழுக்கைப் போன்றது.

Word by Word

• pūyam: pus
• pūyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• cikitsakasya: of the physician
• cikitsakasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cikitsaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• annam: food
• annam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• puṃścalyāḥ: of a prostitute/wanton woman
• puṃścalyāḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puṃścalī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

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

• annam: food
• annam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• indriyam: sense-organ/power of senses
• indriyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: indriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• viṣṭhā: feces
• viṣṭhā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṭhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• vārdhuṣikasya: of the usurer/moneylender
• vārdhuṣikasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vārdhuṣika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• annam: food
• annam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• śastra-vikrayiṇaḥ: of the weapon-seller
• śastra-vikrayiṇaḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śastra (प्रातिपदिक) + vikrayin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन; समासः षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (śastrasya vikrayī)

• malam: filth/impurity
• malam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

Narrative voice in Prabhāsakṣetra-māhātmya (contextual Purāṇic instruction; exact speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A symbolic moral allegory: a pilgrim is offered bowls labeled 'vaidya', 'veśyā', 'vārddhuṣika', 'śastra-vikraya'; each bowl emits a dark haze shaped like pus/excrement/filth, while a bright śiva-liṅga lamp remains pure, inviting the pilgrim toward restraint.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma warns that livelihood and intention behind food matter; unethical trades are portrayed as spiritually contaminating.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsakṣetra, where strict ācāra (conduct) is taught as part of the site’s māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

It conveys prohibitions (what not to accept/eat), not a specific ritual.