Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

स्वदत्ता परदत्ता वा पालनीया वसुंधरा । यस्य यस्य यदा भूमिस्तस्य तस्य तदा फलम्

Transliteration

svadattā paradattā vā pālanīyā vasuṃdharā | yasya yasya yadā bhūmistasya tasya tadā phalam

Translation

سواء أكانت الأرض مُعطاةً من المرء نفسه أم من غيره، فالأرض الممنوحة يجب صونها. فمن كانت له الأرض في أي وقتٍ، فهو حينئذٍ ينال ثمرتها.

Word by Word

• svadattā: given by oneself
• svadattā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sva + datta (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषणम् (vasuṃdharā)

• paradattā: given by another
• paradattā: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para + datta (प्रातिपदिक; समास)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त, स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषणम्

• vā: or
• vā: Vikalpa (Alternative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्प-निपात (disjunctive particle)

• pālanīyā: to be protected/maintained
• pālanīyā: Vidhi (Obligation)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: pāl (पाल् धातु)
• Form: कृत्य-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषणम्

• vasuṃdharā: the earth
• vasuṃdharā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vasuṃdharā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• yasya: of whom
• yasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• yasya: of whomsoever
• yasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (whoever's)

• yadā: when
• yadā: Kāla (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (temporal adverb)

• bhūmiḥ: land
• bhūmiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhūmi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• tasya: of that person
• tasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; पुनरुक्ति (of that same person)

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kāla (Time)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्यय (then)

• phalam: fruit/result
• phalam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

Vyāsa (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra milieu

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Yudhiṣṭhira

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A lineage scene: an old king hands a grant document to a new king, who then marks boundary stones and protects fields; the earth-goddess (Bhūdevī) appears subtly, blessing the protector.

Characters & Entities

• Vasundharā (Earth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Stewardship is dharma: the one who preserves sacred endowments gains the merit of that protection.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No single site is named; the teaching is applicable to temple and tīrtha lands throughout the Revā sacred geography.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Protect and maintain land grants (especially those made for dharma), regardless of who originally donated them.