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

برہمن کا کھانا امرت کے مانند مانا گیا ہے؛ کشتری کا کھانا دودھ کے مانند یاد کیا گیا ہے؛ ویشیہ کا کھانا محض کھانا ہے؛ مگر شُودر کا کھانا خون کے مانند سمجھا گیا ہے۔

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.