Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 19

Devanagari script

हरन्वस्त्रं भवेद्गोधा गरदः पवनाशनः । प्रव्राजी गमनाद्राजन् भवेन्मरुपिशाचकः

Transliteration

haranvastraṃ bhavedgodhā garadaḥ pavanāśanaḥ | pravrājī gamanādrājan bhavenmarupiśācakaḥ

Translation

Wer Kleidung stiehlt, wird zum Waran. Ein Giftmischer wird zu einem, der sich vom Wind nährt. Und, o König, wer das Leben der Entsagung verlässt und ohne rechte Wanderschaft umherirrt, wird zum Wüstengespenst.

Word by Word

• हरन्: stealing
• हरन्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हृ (धातु) + शतृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: वर्तमानकृदन्त (शतृ), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्तरि

• वस्त्रम्: cloth/garment
• वस्त्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वस्त्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• भवेत्: would become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• गोधा: an iguana/monitor lizard
• गोधा: Karta-predicative (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोधा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• गरदः: poisoner / one dealing in poison
• गरदः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गरद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• पवनाशनः: wind-eater (one who lives on air)
• पवनाशनः: Karta-predicative (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पवन + अशन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (पवनम् अशनम्/अशनः)

• प्रव्राजी: a wandering ascetic
• प्रव्राजी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्र-√व्रज् (धातु) + इन्/ई (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्ताधारित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; प्रव्रजितः/संन्यासी (wanderer)

• गमनात्: from (improper) going/wandering
• गमनात्: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गमन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/Ablative), एकवचन; हेत्वर्थे (because of going)

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Address (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन

• भवेत्: would become
• भवेत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• मरुपिशाचकः: a desert-goblin/ghoul
• मरुपिशाचकः: Karta-predicative (Predicate nominative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मरु + पिशाचक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (मरौ पिशाचकः/मरुपिशाचः)

Speaker

Sūta (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha sphere (contextual)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: rājan (a king) explicitly addressed, indicating a royal interlocutor in the surrounding discourse

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Three stark vignettes: a cloth-thief creeping as a godhā (iguana) near a hut; a poisoner with a dark vial, shown as a gaunt being ‘feeding on wind’; a wandering pseudo-renunciant in a desert, shadowed by a maru-piśāca (desert ghoul), with a king witnessing (vocative ‘rājan’).

Characters & Entities

• rājan (king)
• pravrājī (renunciant)
• piśāca

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

The verse condemns theft, poisoning, and hypocrisy in renunciation, stressing that dharma applies to both householders and ascetics.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it is a catalogue of karmic consequences.