Skanda Purana — Brahma Khanda, Shloka 103

Devanagari script

दासनापितगोपालकुलमित्रार्द्धसीरिणः । भोज्यान्नाः शूद्रवर्गेमी तथात्मविनिवेदकः

Transliteration

dāsanāpitagopālakulamitrārddhasīriṇaḥ | bhojyānnāḥ śūdravargemī tathātmavinivedakaḥ

Translation

خادم، نائی، گوالا، خاندانی دوست اور آدھے ہل والے فروتن کاشتکار—اور شودر طبقے کے وہ لوگ جو مہمان نوازی میں پیش کیا گیا کھانا کھاتے ہیں—یہ سب بھی خودسپردگی اور بھکتی بھری خدمت کے سبب دھرم آراṇیہ کے دھرم پر چلنے والے باشندوں میں شمار ہوتے ہیں۔

Word by Word

• dāsa: servant
• dāsa: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन (Nominative singular)

• nāpita: barber
• nāpita: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nāpita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन (Nominative singular)

• gopāla: cowherd
• gopāla: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gopāla (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन (Nominative singular)

• kula: family/lineage
• kula: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kula (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन (Nominative singular)

• mitra: friend
• mitra: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mitra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन (Nominative singular)

• arddha-sīriṇaḥ: half-ploughmen / those with half-plough share
• arddha-sīriṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: arddha (प्रातिपदिक) + sīrin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative plural); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (determinative: ‘half-’ + ‘ploughman/holder of plough’)

• bhojya-annāḥ: edible foods / foods to be eaten
• bhojya-annāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhojya (कृदन्त; √bhuj भुज् ‘to eat/enjoy’) + anna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-बहुवचन (Nominative plural); कर्मधारय (anna qualified by bhojya: ‘edible food’)

• śūdra-varga-emī: I go/associate with the Śūdra group
• śūdra-varga-emī: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: śūdra (प्रातिपदिक) + varga (प्रातिपदिक) + emī (धातु √i इ ‘to go’, लट् 1st sg)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष, एकवचन (1st person singular); पूर्वपद-समास: शूद्रवर्ग (षष्ठी/तत्पुरुष ‘group of Śūdras’) + emī (I go/approach)

• tathā: thus/also
• tathā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अव्यय-प्रकारः: अव्यय/समुच्चयार्थ (indeclinable, ‘thus/also’)

• ātma-vinivedakaḥ: one who offers himself / self-surrenderer
• ātma-vinivedakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक) + vinivedaka (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √vid/√nived ‘to submit/offer’)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-एकवचन (Nominative singular); तत्पुरुष (object-determinative: ‘one who offers/submits oneself’)

Speaker

Narratorial voice (contextually: Vyāsa continuing the discourse to Yudhiṣṭhira)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Dharmāraṇya

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred forest settlement of Dharmāraṇya: humble service-figures—barber with tools, cowherd with cattle, cultivator with half-plough, servants and family-friends—stand near a hermitage, offering respectful service and food, embodying self-surrender.

Characters & Entities

• Dharmāraṇya

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma in a sacred place is not limited by social occupation; sincere self-dedication and righteous conduct are honored.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Dharmāraṇya—presented as a sacred forest-region where residents are guided by a distinct code of conduct.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No specific ritual is prescribed here; the verse emphasizes ethical categories (service, hospitality, self-surrender) within dharma.