Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 70

Devanagari script

वज्रविध्वंसकश्चैव स्वयंदत्तापहारकः । सुक्षेत्रसेतुभेदी च परदारप्रधर्षकः

Transliteration

vajravidhvaṃsakaścaiva svayaṃdattāpahārakaḥ | sukṣetrasetubhedī ca paradārapradharṣakaḥ

Translation

Wer Grenz- und Heiligtumsmarken zerstört, wer zurückstiehlt, was er selbst gegeben hat, wer die Dämme guter Felder bricht, und wer die Frau eines anderen schändet—solche Täter sind verwerflich.

Word by Word

• वज्रविध्वंसकः: destroyer of the thunderbolt (vajra)
• वज्रविध्वंसकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वज्र (प्रातिपदिक) + विध्वंसक (प्रातिपदिक; √ध्वंस् (धातु) + ण्वुल्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वज्रस्य विध्वंसकः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: Sambandha (Emphasis/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारणार्थक-निपात (particle of emphasis)

• स्वयम्-दत्त-अपहारकः: one who steals what was given by oneself
• स्वयम्-दत्त-अपहारकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वयम् (अव्यय) + दत्त (कृदन्त; √दा (धातु) + क्त) + अपहारक (प्रातिपदिक; √हृ (धातु) + अप + ण्वुल्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समासः (स्वयंदत्तस्य अपहारकः)

• सु-क्षेत्र-सेतु-भेदी: breaker of the embankment of good fields
• सु-क्षेत्र-सेतु-भेदी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + क्षेत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + सेतु (प्रातिपदिक) + भेदी (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √भिद् (धातु) + णिनि)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (सुक्षेत्रस्य सेतोः भेदी)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• पर-दार-प्रधर्षकः: violator of others’ wives
• पर-दार-प्रधर्षकः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + दार (प्रातिपदिक) + प्रधर्षक (प्रातिपदिक; √धृष् (धातु) + प्र + ण्वुल्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (परदाराणां प्रधर्षकः)

Speaker

Sūta (Lomaharṣaṇa) (deduced)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: nṛpa (king)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A dharma-assembly scene: a king listening while a sage enumerates grave offenses—boundary-stone destruction, embankment breaking, gift-retraction, and adultery—set against a riverbank with visible field bunds and boundary markers.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma safeguards trust, property, livelihood, and marriage; violating these pillars is treated as severe adharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The continuing context is the sanctity of the Revā tīrtha, with emphasis on purity of conduct.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it lists serious transgressions—stealing back gifts, damaging irrigation works, and violating others’ spouses.