Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

दशसूनासहस्रेण तुल्यो राजप्रतिग्रहः । कस्तस्य प्रतिगृह्णाति लोभाढ्यो ब्राह्मणो यथा

Transliteration

daśasūnāsahasreṇa tulyo rājapratigrahaḥ | kastasya pratigṛhṇāti lobhāḍhyo brāhmaṇo yathā

Translation

راجا کا دان قبول کرنا دس ذبح کرنے والوں کے ہزار گنا کے برابر ہے۔ ایسا دان کون قبول کرے گا—سوائے اس برہمن کے جو لالچ سے پھولا ہوا ہو؟

Word by Word

• daśa-sūnā-sahasreṇa: with a thousand (of) ten-slaughterhouse (measure)
• daśa-sūnā-sahasreṇa: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daśa (अव्यय/संख्या) + sūnā (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/करण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः = ‘with/by a thousand (sets) of ten slaughterhouses’ (instrumental of comparison)

• tulyaḥ: equal
• tulyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate adjective/विधेयविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tulya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; विधेयविशेषणम् of ‘rājapratigrahaḥ’

• rāja-pratigrahaḥ: royal gift-acceptance
• rāja-pratigrahaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक) + pratigraha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः = ‘acceptance (of gifts) from a king / royal acceptance’

• kaḥ: who
• kaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; interrogative ‘who?’

• tasya: of that
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम, षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन; ‘of that/its’

• pratigṛhṇāti: accepts
• pratigṛhṇāti: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prati+grah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद; ‘accepts’

• lobha-āḍhyaḥ: greed-rich (greedy)
• lobha-āḍhyaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: lobha (प्रातिपदिक) + āḍhya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; कर्मधारयः = ‘rich in greed/greed-filled’; विशेषणम् of ‘brāhmaṇaḥ’

• brāhmaṇaḥ: a Brahmin
• brāhmaṇaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; subject of ‘pratigṛhṇāti’

• yathā: as/like
• yathā: Upamāna (Comparison marker/उपमान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (उपमान/समुच्चय) = ‘as/like’

Speaker

Ṛṣis (implied continuation of the sages’ speech)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Elder sage points to an immense, shadowy mass symbolizing the karmic weight of royal gifts; a greedy brāhmaṇa figure is shown tempted, contrasted with a discerning brāhmaṇa stepping back.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• King (rāja)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Gifts are not spiritually neutral; accepting tainted wealth out of greed leads to heavy karmic burden.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is praised in this verse; it serves as a dharma-warning within the tīrtha narrative arc.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A prohibition in principle: avoid accepting royal gifts when they are spiritually dangerous.