Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 44

Devanagari script

न वेदबलमाश्रित्य प्रतिग्रहरुचिर्भवेत् । अज्ञानाद्वा प्रमादाद्वा दहते कर्म नेतरत्

Transliteration

na vedabalamāśritya pratigraharucirbhavet | ajñānādvā pramādādvā dahate karma netarat

Translation

ویدک ضبط و نظم کی قوت پر بھروسا کیے بغیر تحفے اور دان قبول کرنے کی رغبت نہ پیدا کرے؛ جہالت یا غفلت سے ایسا کرنا اپنے کرم کو جلا دیتا ہے—اس کے سوا کوئی چیز یوں نہیں جلاتی۔

Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• veda-balam: the power of the Veda
• veda-balam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: veda (प्रातिपदिक) + bala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वेदस्य बलम्)

• āśritya: having relied on
• āśritya: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ā-śri (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), ‘आश्रित्य’ = having resorted to

• pratigraha-ruciḥ: desire for accepting gifts
• pratigraha-ruciḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prati-graha (प्रातिपदिक) + ruci (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (कर्ता), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (प्रतिग्रहस्य रुचिः)

• bhavet: should be / may arise
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• ajñānāt: from ignorance
• ajñānāt: Apadana (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ajñāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle)

• pramādāt: from negligence
• pramādāt: Apadana (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pramāda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी-विभक्ति (अपादान), एकवचन

• vā: or
• vā: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (disjunctive particle)

• dahate: burns / consumes
• dahate: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dah (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद

• karma: (one’s) deed / action
• karma: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय (negative particle)

• itarat: anything else / otherwise
• itarat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: itara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘अन्यत्’ (the other/otherwise)

Speaker

Skanda (as narrator of Prabhāsa-māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A teacherly scene: a disciplined Vedic practitioner refuses gifts with calm restraint, while a negligent recipient is shown with scorched aura symbolizing ‘karma burning’; the tīrtha setting frames the moral.

Characters & Entities

• Veda
• Pratigraha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Gift-taking requires strict dharmic grounding; careless acceptance corrodes spiritual standing.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This is a dharma-instruction embedded in the Prabhāsa Kṣetra tīrtha narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A restraint: do not cultivate pratigraha (receiving gifts) without Vedic discipline and careful eligibility.