Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 47

Devanagari script

वेदबाह्याः प्रनष्टास्ते उत्तमाधममध्यमाः । षट्त्रिंशच्च सहस्राणि येऽभूवन्गोभुजाः पुरा

Transliteration

vedabāhyāḥ pranaṣṭāste uttamādhamamadhyamāḥ | ṣaṭtriṃśacca sahasrāṇi ye'bhūvangobhujāḥ purā

Translation

ผู้ที่หลงออกนอกทางพระเวทแล้วถึงความพินาศ ไม่ว่าถูกนับว่าสูง ต่ำ หรือปานกลาง ในกาลก่อนมีจำนวนสามหมื่นหกพัน เคยดำรงชีพเป็นคนเลี้ยงโค

Word by Word

• वेदबाह्याः: outside the Veda; non-Vedic
• वेदबाह्याः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वेद + बाह्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वेदस्य बाह्याः = outside the Veda)

• प्रनष्टाः: ruined; lost; perished
• प्रनष्टाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र + नश् (धातु) → प्रनष्ट (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त/क्तवत्-प्रायः), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; past participle sense

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• उत्तमाधममध्यमाः: (of) best, worst, and middling (types)
• उत्तमाधममध्यमाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम + अधम + मध्यम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वः (the best, the worst, and the middling)

• षट्त्रिंशत्: thirty-six
• षट्त्रिंशत्: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षट् + त्रिंशत् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: संख्या-विशेषण; अव्ययवत्/अविकारी संख्या; सहस्राणि इति विशेष्यस्य संख्या (36)

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

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; संख्या-शब्द

• ये: who; which
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धक-सर्वनाम (relative pronoun)

• अभूवन्: were; became
• अभूवन्: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन; परस्मैपदम्

• गोभुजाः: cow-eaters
• गोभुजाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो + भुज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (गवां भुजाः = eaters/consumers of cows)

• पुरा: formerly; in the past
• पुरा: Adhikarana (Time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (adverb of time)

Speaker

Unknown (narrative voice within Brāhma Khaṇḍa; likely Sūta-style narration)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A large group of people portrayed as rustic cowherds, with a subtle aura of loss—broken ritual implements, neglected fires—suggesting a community that has drifted from Vedic order.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Leaving Vedic dharma (right conduct and sacred order) leads to decline, regardless of one’s social rank.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The immediate focus is not a single tīrtha but the Dharmāraṇya setting and its dharma-centered narrative frame.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual is prescribed in this verse; it sets a moral-historical context.