Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 93

Devanagari script

बहुभ्यो न प्रदेयानि गौर्गृहं शयनं स्त्रियः । विभक्तदक्षिणा ह्येता दातारं नाप्नुवन्ति च

Transliteration

bahubhyo na pradeyāni gaurgṛhaṃ śayanaṃ striyaḥ | vibhaktadakṣiṇā hyetā dātāraṃ nāpnuvanti ca

Translation

لا ينبغي أن تُعطى البقرةُ والبيتُ والفراشُ والمرأةُ لعددٍ كثير من المتلقّين. فإن هذه العطايا إذا قُسِّمت دَكْشِنا (dakṣiṇā) بين جماعةٍ لا تبلغ على الحقيقة نفعَها إلى المُعطي.

Word by Word

• bahubhyaḥ: to many (persons)
• bahubhyaḥ: Sampradana (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, चतुर्थी-विभक्ति (4th/Dative), बहुवचन; विशेषण-रूपेण (बहुभ्यः जनैः/व्यक्तिभ्यः)

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्ययम् (negation)

• pradeyāni: should be given
• pradeyāni: Kriya (Obligation predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-dā (धातु) + ya (यत्/तव्यत्-भावे)
• Form: विधेय-विशेषणरूप कृदन्तः (gerundive/तव्यत्-अर्थ: 'to be given'), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; उपसर्गः प्र

• gauḥ: a cow
• gauḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: go (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• gṛham: a house
• gṛham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• śayanam: a bed
• śayanam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śayana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• striyaḥ: women
• striyaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: strī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• vibhakta-dakṣiṇāḥ: divided fees/gifts (distributed as separate shares)
• vibhakta-dakṣiṇāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vibhakta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √bhaj with vi-) + dakṣiṇā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; कर्मधारयः (विभक्ताः दक्षिणाः)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (Discourse particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात-अव्ययम् (particle; emphasis)

• etāḥ: these
• etāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• dātāram: the giver
• dātāram: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dātṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (Negation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्ययम् (negation)

• āpnuvanti: reach/benefit/attain
• āpnuvanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन

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

Speaker

Sūta (or the text’s narrator) delivering dāna-dharma instruction (contextual deduction)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A donor preparing gifts: a cow with garland, a symbolic house deed/keys, a bed with linens, and a cautionary scene of multiple claimants; a dharma-śāstra teacher advises single-recipient giving.

Characters & Entities

• Gau (cow)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charity must be ethically and properly structured; certain gifts are meant to be given as a whole to preserve their dharmic efficacy.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No site is praised in this verse; it is a general rule of dāna-dharma within the Revā Khaṇḍa discourse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Do not divide and distribute these specific gifts among multiple recipients; give them as a single, complete dāna.