Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

अश्रद्धया हुतं दत्तं तपस्तप्तं कृतं च यत् । असदित्युच्यते पार्थ न च तत्प्रेत्य नो इह

Transliteration

aśraddhayā hutaṃ dattaṃ tapastaptaṃ kṛtaṃ ca yat | asadityucyate pārtha na ca tatpretya no iha

Translation

كل ما يُقدَّم قربانًا، أو يُعطى صدقةً، أو يُمارَس من زهدٍ وتنسّكٍ بلا إيمان—يا بارثا—يُسمّى «أسَت» أي اللاوجود؛ فلا ثمرة له لا في الدنيا ولا بعد الموت.

Word by Word

• aśraddhayā: with lack of faith
• aśraddhayā: Karaṇa (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: a-śraddhā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), तृतीया विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• hutam: offered (as oblation)
• hutam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: √hu (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्ति (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन (Singular); क्त-प्रत्ययान्त भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle)

• dattam: given (as gift)
• dattam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: √dā (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; क्तान्त कृदन्त (PPP)

• tapaḥ: austerity
• tapaḥ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tapas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन

• taptam: performed (austerity)
• taptam: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √tap (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; क्तान्त कृदन्त (PPP), ‘tapas’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• kṛtam: done
• kṛtam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: √kṛ (धातु) + kta (कृत् प्रत्यय)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; क्तान्त कृदन्त (PPP)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• yat: whatever
• yat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक यत्-शब्दः (relative pronoun)

• asat: vain/fruitless
• asat: Viśeṣaṇa (Predicate qualifier/विधेयविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-sat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (predicative)

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (Quotation marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: इति-उक्त्यर्थक अव्यय (quotative particle)

• ucyate: is called
• ucyate: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु)
• Form: लट् लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद (Ātmanepada), कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

• pārtha: O Pārtha
• pārtha: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pārtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सम्बोधन विभक्ति (Vocative/8th), एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation particle)

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय (conjunction)

• tat: that
• tat: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा/द्वितीया (Nom./Acc.), एकवचन

• pretya: after death
• pretya: Kāla (Temporal/काल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pra-√i (धातु) + ल्यप् (कृदन्त)
• Form: ल्यप्-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययीभावरूप कृदन्त (gerund/absolutive), ‘प्रेत्य’ = ‘मृत्वा/परलोकं गत्वा’

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय (negation)

• u: indeed
• u: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: u (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle)

• iha: here (in this world)
• iha: Adhikaraṇa (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (adverb of place)

Speaker

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha-mahātmya setting

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Nṛpa (King) addressed in surrounding verses; ‘Pārtha’ is a Gītā-style vocative retained in this citation

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim offers oblations and gifts with distracted mind; the offerings appear dim and fruitless, contrasted with a second pilgrim offering with folded hands and luminous faith.

Characters & Entities

• Pārtha (Yudhiṣṭhira)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Rituals and austerities require śraddhā; without it, actions lose their spiritual potency and do not yield merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific site is named; the teaching applies to all tīrthas and all dharmic acts.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Perform huta (offerings), dāna (charity), and tapas with śraddhā to obtain results in this life and the next.