Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

धर्मकामं हि मनुजं यो वारयति मंदधीः । तदाश्रितस्य जगतो निःश्वासैर्भस्मसाद्भवेत्

Transliteration

dharmakāmaṃ hi manujaṃ yo vārayati maṃdadhīḥ | tadāśritasya jagato niḥśvāsairbhasmasādbhavet

Translation

Quả thật, kẻ ngu muội nào ngăn cản người đang chí hướng nơi Dharma—chỉ bằng hơi thở của chính hắn, xin cho thế gian nương tựa vào hắn cũng hóa thành tro bụi.

Word by Word

• dharma-kāmam: desiring dharma
• dharma-kāmam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dharma (धर्म) + kāma (काम) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुषार्थे (धर्मं कामयते/धर्मकामः)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha-bodhaka (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निपात; हेतौ/खलु-अर्थे)

• manujam: a man
• manujam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manuja (मनुज) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (यद्) (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; सम्बन्धक (who)

• vārayati: restrains
• vārayati: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vṛ (वृ) (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; णिच् (causative) ‘to restrain/stop’

• manda-dhīḥ: a dull-witted person
• manda-dhīḥ: Karta (Subject apposition/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: manda (मन्द) + dhī (धी) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (मन्दा धीः यस्य)

• tad-āśritasya: of that which depends on him
• tad-āśritasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tad (तद्) + āśrita (आश्रित) (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (तस्मिन् आश्रितः)

• jagataḥ: of the world
• jagataḥ: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jagat (जगत्) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी विभक्ति, एकवचन

• niḥśvāsaiḥ: by (his) breaths
• niḥśvāsaiḥ: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niḥśvāsa (निःश्वास) (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• bhasma-sāt: to ashes
• bhasma-sāt: Gati (Result/गति-फल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bhasman (भस्मन्) + sāt (सात्) (अव्ययीभाव-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास; अव्ययवत् प्रयोग (to ashes/into ash-state)

• bhavet: would become
• bhavet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √bhū (भू) (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (सम्भावना/विधान), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

Arjuna

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Arjuna speaks with blazing conviction; behind him, a symbolic vision: a world sustained by a pillar of breath (prāṇa), threatened by ash—illustrating the cosmic stakes of hindering dharma.

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Obstructing a sincere Dharma-seeker is portrayed as a grave moral fault with far-reaching consequences.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single site is named in this verse; it supports the broader tīrtha-yātrā ethos that unfolds immediately afterward.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; it is a moral injunction emphasizing non-obstruction of Dharma-oriented action.