Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 182

Devanagari script

सर्वावयवसम्पूर्णान्सर्वशास्त्रविशारदान् । वेदाभ्यासरतान्नित्यं स्वदारनिरतान्सदा

Transliteration

sarvāvayavasampūrṇānsarvaśāstraviśāradān | vedābhyāsaratānnityaṃ svadāraniratānsadā

Translation

Man soll Brāhmaṇas auswählen, die an allen Gliedern unversehrt sind, in allen Śāstras bewandert, stets der Übung der Veden hingegeben und immer ihren rechtmäßigen Ehefrauen treu.

Word by Word

• सर्वावयवसम्पूर्णान्: complete in all limbs (fully endowed)
• सर्वावयवसम्पूर्णान्: Karma (Qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व-अवयव-सम्पूर्ण (प्रातिपदिक; सर्व + अवयव + सम्पूर्ण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन; विशेषण (ब्राह्मणान्)

• सर्वशास्त्रविशारदान्: skilled in all scriptures
• सर्वशास्त्रविशारदान्: Karma (Qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व-शास्त्र-विशारद (प्रातिपदिक; सर्व + शास्त्र + विशारद)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• वेदाभ्यासरतान्: devoted to Vedic study
• वेदाभ्यासरतान्: Karma (Qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वेद-अभ्यास-रत (प्रातिपदिक; वेद + अभ्यास + रत)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• नित्यम्: always
• नित्यम्: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Temporal/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य (प्रातिपदिक/अव्ययीभाववत्)
• Form: अव्यय; कालवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb: always)

• स्वदारनिरतान्: devoted to their own wives
• स्वदारनिरतान्: Karma (Qualifier/कर्मविशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्व-दार-निरत (प्रातिपदिक; स्व + दार + निरत)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), बहुवचन; विशेषण

• सदा: always
• सदा: Kriya-visheshaṇa (Temporal/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; नित्यत्ववाचक क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

Speaker

Narrator within Revākhaṇḍa (contextual instruction to a royal interlocutor, addressed as Pāṇḍunandana/Pārtha in adjacent verses)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Eraṇḍī (Revā-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Narādhipa / Pāṇḍunandana (contextual addressee)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A group of dignified brāhmaṇas: healthy, composed, with sacred threads, holding palm-leaf texts; a setting suggesting Vedic recitation and disciplined household virtue.

Characters & Entities

• Brāhmaṇa
• Veda
• Śāstra

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual acts gain purity and fruit when performed with qualified, disciplined recipients who embody Vedic learning and moral conduct.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader passage belongs to the Revā Khaṇḍa’s Eraṇḍī-saṅgama context, a confluence-tīrtha associated with the Narmadā (Revā).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Guidance for selecting suitable Brāhmaṇas as recipients/participants in śrāddha and related rites.