Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

उच्चैः पाषाणयुक्ता च न समा नैव चोषरा । न नदीकूलविकटा भूमिर्देया कदाचन

Transliteration

uccaiḥ pāṣāṇayuktā ca na samā naiva coṣarā | na nadīkūlavikaṭā bhūmirdeyā kadācana

Translation

అతి ఎత్తుగా ఉన్నది, రాళ్లతో నిండినది, అసమానమైనది, ఉప్పు/ఉషరభూమి గానీ, నదీ తీరంలో కఠినంగా దుర్గమంగా ఉన్న భూమి గానీ—అటువంటి భూమిని ఎప్పుడూ దానం చేయరాదు।

Word by Word

• उच्चैः: high, steeply
• उच्चैः: Sambandha (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उच्चैः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: high/upwards)

• पाषाण-युक्ता: mixed with stones, stony
• पाषाण-युक्ता: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाषाण (प्रातिपदिक) + युक्त (कृदन्त, √युज्); पाषाण-युक्त (समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (past participle) ‘युक्त’; विशेषण (bhūmiḥ)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेधार्थक

• समा: level, even
• समा: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (bhūmiḥ)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेधार्थक

• एव: indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारणार्थक (emphatic particle: indeed)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चयार्थक

• उषरा: barren, saline
• उषरा: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उषर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (bhūmiḥ)

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेधार्थक

• नदी-कूल-विकटा: rugged with river-banks
• नदी-कूल-विकटा: Visheshana (Adjective/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक) + कूल (प्रातिपदिक) + विकट (प्रातिपदिक); नदी-कूल-विकट (समास)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (bhūmiḥ)

• भूमिः: land
• भूमिः: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• देया: should be given
• देया: Vidhi (Obligation predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: देय (कृदन्त, √दा)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विध्यर्थक कृदन्त (gerundive/तव्यत्-अर्थ: ‘to be given’)

• कदाचन: ever, at any time
• कदाचन: Sambandha (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कदाचन (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक (at any time/ever)

Speaker

Unspecified in excerpt (within Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya narration)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A donor and priest examine a plot: elevated rocky ground, uneven saline patches, and a jagged riverbank; the priest gestures ‘na deyā’ while pointing to fertile alternative land.

Characters & Entities

• Bhūmi-dāna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity must be responsible and beneficial; a gift that harms or is unusable undermines dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The instruction is placed within Prabhāsa-kṣetra Māhātmya, presenting righteous giving as part of Prabhāsa’s sacred code.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A dāna-vidhi rule for bhūmi-dāna: avoid gifting land that is barren, rocky, uneven, or otherwise unsuitable.