Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 68

Devanagari script

न तुल्या पादरजसा समा साऽधिशिरः कृता

Transliteration

na tulyā pādarajasā samā sā'dhiśiraḥ kṛtā

Translation

Cô ta thậm chí không bằng bụi dưới chân, vậy mà lại được đặt ngang hàng, quả thực là được đặt lên trên đầu.

Word by Word

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निषेध (negation particle)

• तुल्या: equal
• तुल्या: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (विशेषण/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तुल्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; predicate adjective

• पादरजसा: with the dust of (his) feet
• पादरजसा: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद (प्रातिपदिक) + रजस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुषसमास (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष): ‘पादस्य रजः’; नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया, एकवचन

• समा: equal
• समा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) (विशेषण/विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; predicate adjective

• सा: she
• सा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अधिशिरः: upon the head
• अधिशिरः: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण) (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अधि (अव्यय/उपसर्ग) + शिरस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभावसमास; अव्ययवत् प्रयोगः; ‘upon the head’ (adverbial)

• कृता: was made/placed
• कृता: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु) (कृदन्त-भूतकृदन्त)
• Form: कृदन्त (क्त), स्त्रीलिङ्गे, प्रथमा, एकवचन; used predicatively ‘was made/placed’

Speaker

Devī (continuing her rebuke)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: An assembly scene where a revered figure’s foot-dust is contrasted with an honored yet unworthy person being ceremonially placed ‘above the head’, highlighting a moral paradox.

Characters & Entities

• pādarajas (dust of the feet)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Honor must align with worth and dharma; misplaced exaltation becomes a moral disorder and invites correction.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching is embedded in the Prabhāsa-kṣetra māhātmya narrative setting.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it uses a devotional/social metaphor (pādarajas) to intensify a moral rebuke.