Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 142

Devanagari script

मृष्टान्नं ब्राह्मणस्यार्थे स्वर्गे वासं तु यान्ति ते । ब्रह्महत्याश्वमेधाभ्यां न परं पापपुण्ययोः

Transliteration

mṛṣṭānnaṃ brāhmaṇasyārthe svarge vāsaṃ tu yānti te | brahmahatyāśvamedhābhyāṃ na paraṃ pāpapuṇyayoḥ

Translation

Wer um eines Brāhmaṇa willen erlesene, wohlbereitete Speise darbringt, erlangt eine Wohnstatt im Himmel. Denn auf der Waage von Sünde und Verdienst gibt es nichts, was über brahma-hatyā (die Tötung eines Brāhmaṇa) und das Aśvamedha (Pferdeopfer) hinausgeht.

Word by Word

• मृष्टान्नम्: well-prepared food
• मृष्टान्नम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृष्ट (कृदन्त/क्त; √मृज्) + अन्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय-समास ('मृष्टं अन्नम्'), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• ब्राह्मणस्य: of/for a brāhmaṇa
• ब्राह्मणस्य: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• अर्थे: for the sake (of)
• अर्थे: Hetu/Purpose (हेतु/प्रयोजन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन; अर्थे = प्रयोजनार्थे (for the sake of)

• स्वर्गे: in heaven
• स्वर्गे: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर्ग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• वासम्: dwelling, residence
• वासम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• तु: indeed, but
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधसूचक (emphatic/contrastive particle)

• यान्ति: go, attain
• यान्ति: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), बहुवचन

• ते: they
• ते: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन

• ब्रह्महत्याश्वमेधाभ्याम्: by/than (the acts of) brahma-murder and horse-sacrifice
• ब्रह्महत्याश्वमेधाभ्याम्: Karana/Comparison basis (करण/उपमान-आधार)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्महत्या (प्रातिपदिक) + अश्वमेध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व, स्त्री/पुं (समाहारार्थे द्वन्द्वे नपुंसकत्वं सम्भवति; अत्र द्विवचन-तृतीया), तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), द्विवचन

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक अव्यय

• परम्: greater, beyond
• परम्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण; predicate)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; अत्र 'श्रेष्ठम्/अधिकम्' अर्थे

• पापपुण्ययोः: of sin and merit
• पापपुण्ययोः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक) + पुण्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व, नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), द्विवचन

Speaker

Sūta (deduced, Purāṇic narration style within Āvantya Khaṇḍa)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha milieu (implicit)

Type: river

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim household offers steaming, well-prepared food on banana leaves or metal plates to seated brāhmaṇas; above, a symbolic svarga pavilion; in contrast, a faint cautionary shadow motif for brahma-hatyā and a distant horse-sacrifice icon for aśvamedha.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• Aśvamedha

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Anna-dāna offered in reverence to brāhmaṇas is praised as a powerful source of puṇya, while the text also frames brahma-hatyā and aśvamedha as extreme poles of pāpa and puṇya.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse is a general dharma-teaching within the Revā Khaṇḍa; the immediate shloka does not name a specific tīrtha, though the broader section is associated with the Revā (Narmadā) sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The prescription is anna-dāna—offering well-prepared food for the sake of a brāhmaṇa.