Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 74

Devanagari script

अदत्त्वा ये नरोऽश्नंति पितृदेवद्विजातिषु । दुर्भिक्षे जन्म तेषां तु तेन पापेन जायते

Transliteration

adattvā ye naro'śnaṃti pitṛdevadvijātiṣu | durbhikṣe janma teṣāṃ tu tena pāpena jāyate

Translation

ผู้ใดกินโดยมิได้ให้ส่วนแก่ปิตฤ เทพ และทวิชะก่อน—ด้วยบาปนั้นเอง เขาย่อมเกิดในคราวทุพภิกขภัยและความขัดสน

Word by Word

• अदत्त्वा: without giving
• अदत्त्वा: Purvakala-kriya (Prior action/पूर्वकालक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अ + √दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (Gerund/अव्ययभाव); ‘not having given’

• ये: who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• नरः: a man/people
• नरः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन (जातिवाचक-एकवचन; collective sense)

• अश्नन्ति: eat
• अश्नन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अश् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; ‘they eat’

• पितृदेवद्विजातिषु: towards ancestors, gods, and twice-born (Brahmins)
• पितृदेवद्विजातिषु: Adhikarana (Domain/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ + देव + द्विजाति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; द्वन्द्वः—पितरः च देवाः च द्विजातयः च; ‘with respect to/among fathers, gods, and twice-born’

• दुर्भिक्षे: in famine
• दुर्भिक्षे: Adhikarana (Location/Condition/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्भिक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जन्म: birth
• जन्म: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात) — but/indeed

• तेन: by that
• तेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘by that’

• पापेन: sin
• पापेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• जायते: arises/occurs
• जायते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘is born/arises’

Speaker

Skanda (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A household/pilgrim kitchen scene: a person begins to eat while unseen pitṛs, devas, and a hungry brāhmaṇa stand unserved; the next panel shows a barren famine landscape as karmic result.

Characters & Entities

• Pitṛs
• Devas
• Dvijātis

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Food is sacred; one should honor ancestors, deities, and the twice-born before personal consumption—neglect becomes a cause of hardship.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific tīrtha is identified in this verse; it teaches general gṛhastha-dharma within the chapter.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Offering portions/oblations before eating—sharing with pitṛs, devas, and dvijātis (forms of naivedya, bali, atithi-sevā, and śrāddha-related giving).