Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 18

Devanagari script

यस्येदृशः कामचारो मय्यपि द्विजपांसन । अहं ते पश्यतस्तस्मान्नयामि सुरभिं गृहात्

Transliteration

yasyedṛśaḥ kāmacāro mayyapi dvijapāṃsana | ahaṃ te paśyatastasmānnayāmi surabhiṃ gṛhāt

Translation

„Wenn ein solch eigenwilliges Gebaren selbst mir gegenüber gezeigt wird, du elender Brāhmaṇa, dann werde ich, während du zusiehst, Surabhī aus deinem Haus fortführen.“

Word by Word

• yasya: whose
• yasya: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सम्बन्धवाचक सर्वनाम

• īdṛśaḥ: such
• īdṛśaḥ: Visheshana (Adjectival/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: īdṛśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; विशेषण

• kāma-cāraḥ: arbitrary conduct / acting at will
• kāma-cāraḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kāma (प्रातिपदिक) + cāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (determinative: ‘acting as one wishes’)

• mayi: in/against me
• mayi: Adhikarana (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• api: even, also
• api: Sambandha-bodhaka (Particle/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: सम्भावन/अपि-कारक निपात (particle: also/even)

• dvija-pāṃsana: O vile brahmin
• dvija-pāṃsana: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + pāṃsana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (determinative: ‘brahmin-wretch’)

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• te: of you / your
• te: Sambandha (Genitive relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• paśyataḥ: while you look on
• paśyataḥ: Kriya-visheshana (Adverbial/क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √paś (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त (present active participle), षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; ‘while (you are) seeing’

• tasmāt: from there / from that (place)
• tasmāt: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• nayāmi: I take away / lead
• nayāmi: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √nī (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• surabhim: Surabhī (the cow)
• surabhim: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: surabhī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; (कामधेनोः नाम)

• gṛhāt: from the house
• gṛhāt: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gṛha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5), एकवचन

Speaker

Rājā (the king)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) tīrtha milieu

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Jamadagni (addressed insultingly)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The king points toward the cow, ordering men to seize her; Surabhī stands near the hut; the sage is confronted amid a charged atmosphere.

Characters & Entities

• Surabhī (Kāmadhenū)
• Rājā (the king)
• Brāhmaṇa (Jamadagni)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Disrespect toward spiritual custodians and seizure of sacred property is a hallmark of adharma and invites ruin.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The episode sits within the Revā Khaṇḍa’s Narmadā-region narrative setting rather than praising a single named tīrtha in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; the verse depicts a violation of dharma (attempted seizure) rather than a rite.