Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

उत्तमं मध्यमं वापि कनीयः स्यात्कथं विभो । राजसं तामसं वापि निःश्रेयसमथापि वा

Transliteration

uttamaṃ madhyamaṃ vāpi kanīyaḥ syātkathaṃ vibho | rājasaṃ tāmasaṃ vāpi niḥśreyasamathāpi vā

Translation

كيف يا أيها الرب القدير يُعتبر هذا ممتازاً، أو متوسطاً، أو أدنى؟ وكيف يكون راجاسياً أو تاماسياً، أو كيف يصبح نيشرياسا (مؤدياً إلى الخير الأسمى)؟

Word by Word

• uttamam: best / excellent
• uttamam: Predicate/Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: uttama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• madhyamam: middling / medium
• madhyamam: Predicate/Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: madhyama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; विशेषण

• vā: or
• vā: Connector (विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्प-अव्यय (or)

• api: also / even
• api: Emphasis/Addition
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्यय (also/even)

• kanīyaḥ: inferior / smaller
• kanīyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kanīyas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तुलनात्मक-विशेषण (comparative)

• syāt: may be / would be
• syāt: Kriyā (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• katham: how
• katham: Adverbial (प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: प्रश्नवाचक-अव्यय (how)

• vibho: O mighty one
• vibho: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vibhu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• rājasam: rajasic
• rājasam: Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: rājasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; गुण-विशेषण (of rajas)

• tāmasam: tamasic
• tāmasam: Qualifier (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tāmasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; गुण-विशेषण (of tamas)

• vā: or
• vā: Connector (विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्प-अव्यय (or)

• api: also
• api: Emphasis/Addition
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्यय (also/even)

• niḥśreyasam: supreme good / salvation
• niḥśreyasam: Qualifier/Predicate (विशेष्य/विधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: niḥśreyasa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; भाववाचक-नाम (highest good)

• atha: and / then
• atha: Connector
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अनन्तर-अव्यय (and/then)

• api: also
• api: Emphasis/Addition
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्यय (also/even)

• vā: or
• vā: Connector (विकल्प)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्प-अव्यय (or)

Speaker

King Uttānapāda

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha milieu

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The questioner asks for a taxonomy: what makes the act superior, middling, inferior; what makes it rājasa or tāmasa; and what makes it lead to niḥśreyasa—depicted as a didactic exchange with symbolic guṇa colors.

Characters & Entities

• Uttānapāda

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Actions are ethically graded by motive and quality (guṇas); the same outward act can be inferior or liberative depending on intention and purity.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tirtha is named; the focus is on dharmic evaluation within the Revā Khaṇḍa discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse requests criteria for classifying kanyā-dāna (and related acts) as uttama/madhyama/kanīya and as rājasa/tāmasa/niḥśreyasa.