Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 26

Devanagari script

इष्टो गोत्रजनः कश्चिल्लोभेनावृतमानसः । न च द्वैधं परित्यज्य ह्येकं सत्यं भविष्यति

Transliteration

iṣṭo gotrajanaḥ kaścillobhenāvṛtamānasaḥ | na ca dvaidhaṃ parityajya hyekaṃ satyaṃ bhaviṣyati

Translation

„Selbst ein geliebter Verwandter, dessen Geist von Gier verhüllt ist, wird sich erheben. Und ohne die Zwiespältigkeit aufzugeben, wird keine einzige, standhafte Wahrheit entstehen.“

Word by Word

• इष्टः: dear/beloved
• इष्टः: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इष् (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (past participle), पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘गोत्रजनः’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• गोत्रजनः: a kinsman (of the lineage)
• गोत्रजनः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोत्र (प्रातिपदिक) + जन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (गोत्रस्य जनः)

• कश्चित्: someone
• कश्चित्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; अनिश्चितार्थक-सर्वनाम (indefinite pronoun)

• लोभेन: by greed
• लोभेन: Karana (Instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन

• आवृतमानसः: one whose mind is covered/obscured
• आवृतमानसः: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-वृ (धातु) + मानस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष/कर्मधारयार्थः—‘आवृतं मानसं यस्य सः’ (bahuvrīhi sense in usage)

• न: not
• न: Pratiṣedha (Negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात

• च: and
• च: Samuccaya (Coordination)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-निपात

• द्वैधम्: duplicity/double-mindedness
• द्वैधम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वैध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (कर्म), एकवचन

• परित्यज्य: having abandoned
• परित्यज्य: Kriya (Adverbial action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-त्यज् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund), पूर्वकालिक क्रिया

• हि: indeed/for
• हि: Sambandha (Discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), कारण/निश्चयार्थ

• एकम्: one/single
• एकम्: Karta (Subject qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; ‘सत्यम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषण

• सत्यम्: truth
• सत्यम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (कर्ता), एकवचन

• भविष्यति: will be/come to be
• भविष्यति: Kriya (Main verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्/Future), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

Speaker

Lakṣmī (Ramā Devī) (deduced from context 28–29)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā-kṣetra (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A close, intimate scene: a once-beloved kinsman stands with shadowed face and grasping hands, while two paths diverge—one labeled duplicity, the other single truth—Devī’s gaze urging the abandonment of the former.

Characters & Entities

• Lakṣmī
• Gotra (clan)
• Lobha (greed)
• Satya (truth)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Greed breeds duplicity even among loved ones; truth becomes possible only when inner double-mindedness is renounced.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

None explicitly; the verse belongs to the Revā Khaṇḍa narrative frame associated with the Narmadā’s sacred landscape.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No ritual is prescribed; the focus is on moral conduct—truthfulness and freedom from greed.