Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

शीर्णघ्राणाङ्घ्रिरभवत्तपः सर्वं ननाश च । दृष्ट्वात्मानं स कुष्ठेन व्याप्तं ब्राह्मणसत्तमः

Transliteration

śīrṇaghrāṇāṅghrirabhavattapaḥ sarvaṃ nanāśa ca | dṛṣṭvātmānaṃ sa kuṣṭhena vyāptaṃ brāhmaṇasattamaḥ

Translation

จมูกและเท้าของเขาผุพังเสื่อมสลาย และตบะทั้งปวงก็พินาศสิ้น ครั้นเห็นตนถูกโรคเรื้อนแผ่ซ่านทั่วกาย พราหมณ์ผู้ประเสริฐนั้นก็เศร้าโศกแสนสาหัส

Word by Word

• śīrṇa-ghrāṇa-aṅghriḥ: (he) with decayed nose and feet
• śīrṇa-ghrāṇa-aṅghriḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śīrṇa (कृदन्त, √śṝ/शॄ ‘to decay’) + ghrāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + aṅghri (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (śīrṇa-ghrāṇa ‘whose nose is decayed’ + aṅghri ‘foot’ → ‘decayed-nose-and-footed’ as a nominal epithet)

• abhavat: became
• abhavat: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• tapaḥ: austerity, penance
• tapaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• sarvam: all, entire
• sarvam: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (tapaḥ-विशेषण)

• nanāśa: perished, was destroyed
• nanāśa: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √naś (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

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

• dṛṣṭvā: having seen
• dṛṣṭvā: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Absolutive/Gerund), अव्ययभाव

• ātmānam: himself
• ātmānam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• kuṣṭhena: by leprosy
• kuṣṭhena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuṣṭha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचन

• vyāptam: pervaded, afflicted
• vyāptam: Karman (Object qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (धातु) + vi- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: क्त (Past Passive Participle), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; ātmānam-विशेषण

• brāhmaṇa-sattamaḥ: the best of Brahmins
• brāhmaṇa-sattamaḥ: Apposition (Samānādhikaraṇa/समानाधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + sattama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (‘best’ qualifying ‘brāhmaṇa’)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced narrative voice within Āvantya-khaṇḍa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A once-austere brāhmaṇa, now emaciated, with decayed nose and feet, gazes at his own body in anguish; the background hints at a riverbank pilgrimage landscape.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Karmic affliction can nullify pride in austerity; humility and seeking righteous purification become the turning point.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse prepares for the tīrtha-seeking journey; Bhāskara-tīrtha is introduced immediately afterward as the cure-bearing sacred site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Tapas (austerity) is referenced, but the narrative shifts toward tīrtha-based remedy rather than mere self-effort.