Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

अमृतं ब्राह्मणस्यान्नं क्षत्रियान्नं पयः स्मृतम् । वैश्यान्नमन्नमेव स्याच्छूद्रान्नं रुधिरं स्मृतम्

Transliteration

amṛtaṃ brāhmaṇasyānnaṃ kṣatriyānnaṃ payaḥ smṛtam | vaiśyānnamannameva syācchūdrānnaṃ rudhiraṃ smṛtam

Translation

బ్రాహ్మణుని అన్నము అమృతమని, క్షత్రియుని అన్నము పాలని స్మృతిలో చెప్పబడింది; వైశ్యుని అన్నము సాధారణ అన్నమే; శూద్రుని అన్నము రుధిరమని స్మృతం।

Word by Word

• amṛtam: nectar/ambrosia
• amṛtam: Pradhāna (Predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: amṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — neuter, nominative/accusative singular

• brāhmaṇasya: of a brāhmaṇa
• brāhmaṇasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन — masculine, genitive singular

• annam: food
• annam: Karta (Subject; equational)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — neuter, nominative/accusative singular

• kṣatriya-annam: kṣatriya-food
• kṣatriya-annam: Karta (Subject; ellipsis of ‘(asti)’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣatriya (प्रातिपदिक) + anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — neuter, nominative/accusative singular; “kṣatriya’s food”

• payaḥ: milk
• payaḥ: Pradhāna (Predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: payas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — neuter, nominative/accusative singular

• smṛtam: is considered
• smṛtam: Kriyā (Implied copular predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: smṛta (कृदन्त; √smṛ स्मृ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त — neuter, nominative/accusative singular; “is considered/said” (with implied ‘asti’)

• vaiśya-annam: vaiśya-food
• vaiśya-annam: Karta (Subject of syāt)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaiśya (प्रातिपदिक) + anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — neuter, nominative/accusative singular

• annam: food
• annam: Pradhāna (Predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — neuter, nominative/accusative singular

• eva: indeed/only
• eva: Nipāta (Emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अवधारण/निश्चयार्थक) — particle “only/indeed”

• syāt: would be/is said to be
• syāt: Kriyā (Copular verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √as (अस्)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (सम्भावना/आज्ञा), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद — optative, 3rd person singular, active

• śūdra-annam: śūdra-food
• śūdra-annam: Karta (Subject; ellipsis of ‘(asti)’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śūdra (प्रातिपदिक) + anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — neuter, nominative/accusative singular

• rudhiram: blood
• rudhiram: Pradhāna (Predicate nominal)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudhira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन — neuter, nominative/accusative singular

• smṛtam: is considered
• smṛtam: Kriyā (Implied copular predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: smṛta (कृदन्त; √smṛ स्मृ)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त — neuter, nominative/accusative singular; “is considered”

Speaker

Śaṅkara (Śiva)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic tableau: four bowls of food labeled by varṇa, rendered symbolically as nectar, milk, plain grain, and blood-red liquid—set before a meditative devotee contemplating restraint.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• Kṣatriya
• Vaiśya
• Śūdra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Food is treated as morally and spiritually consequential; the text frames dietary source as affecting purity in religious discipline.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single tīrtha is named in this verse; it functions as a dharma-instruction within the Revā Khaṇḍa setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

An implied dietary rule: avoid certain food sources when pursuing strict Śaiva vrata and tapas.