Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

गुरुरात्मवतां शास्ता राजा शास्ता दुरात्मनाम् । इह प्रच्छन्नपापानां शास्ता वैवस्वतो यमः

Transliteration

gururātmavatāṃ śāstā rājā śāstā durātmanām | iha pracchannapāpānāṃ śāstā vaivasvato yamaḥ

Translation

Für die Selbstbeherrschten ist der Lehrer der Zuchtmeister; für die Bösen ist der König der Zuchtmeister. Doch für jene, deren Sünden in dieser Welt verborgen bleiben, wird Yama, der Sohn Vivasvāns, zum wahren Strafenden.

Word by Word

• guruḥ: teacher
• guruḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: guru (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (masculine nominative singular)

• ātmavatām: of the self-possessed
• ātmavatām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātmavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन (masculine genitive plural; 'of the self-controlled/virtuous')

• śāstā: ruler/discipliner
• śāstā: Karta (Predicate nominative/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śās (धातु) + tṛc (कृत्; शास्तृ)
• Form: तृच्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (agent noun); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (masculine nominative singular)

• rājā: king
• rājā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (masculine nominative singular)

• śāstā: discipliner
• śāstā: Karta (Predicate nominative/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śās (धातु) + tṛc (कृत्; शास्तृ)
• Form: तृच्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (masculine nominative singular)

• durātmanām: of the wicked
• durātmanām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dur + ātman (प्रातिपदिक; दुरात्मन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुष (bad-souled)

• iha: here (in this world)
• iha: Deśa (Place/देश)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक (indeclinable adverb of place)

• pracchannapāpānām: of those with concealed sins
• pracchannapāpānām: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pracchanna + pāpa (प्रातिपदिक; प्रच्छन्नपाप)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन; कर्मधारय (those whose sins are hidden)

• śāstā: punisher/discipliner
• śāstā: Karta (Predicate nominative/समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śās (धातु) + tṛc (कृत्; शास्तृ)
• Form: तृच्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त; पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (masculine nominative singular)

• vaivasvataḥ: son of Vivasvat
• vaivasvataḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vaivasvata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (masculine nominative singular)

• yamaḥ: Yama
• yamaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yama (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (masculine nominative singular)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Pārtha (Arjuna)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Tripartite allegory: a guru instructing a calm disciple; a king administering justice to a wrongdoer; and Yama, stern yet lawful, holding a staff/noose, symbolizing unseen accountability.

Characters & Entities

• Yama
• Vaivasvata
• Vivasvān

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

No deed is truly unaccounted for: hidden wrongdoing escapes human courts but not cosmic justice administered by Yama.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None; the verse is ethical instruction within the Revā Khaṇḍa narrative.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly; it implies the need for repentance and transparent dharmic living.