Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 21

Devanagari script

यस्यास्ति शक्तिस्तेजो वा क्षत्रियस्य कुलाधमः । धेनुं नयतु मे सद्यः क्षीणायुः सपरिच्छदः

Transliteration

yasyāsti śaktistejo vā kṣatriyasya kulādhamaḥ | dhenuṃ nayatu me sadyaḥ kṣīṇāyuḥ saparicchadaḥ

Translation

„Jeder Kṣatriya—der Niedrigste seines Geschlechts—der meint, Kraft oder Glanz zu besitzen, soll sogleich meine Kuh fortführen; doch sein Leben wird gekürzt, samt Gefolge und Habe.“

Word by Word

• यस्य: of whom/whose
• यस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन; सम्बन्ध (of whom)

• अस्ति: there is/has
• अस्ति: Kriya (Verb of existence)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• शक्तिः: power
• शक्तिः: Karta (Subject of अस्ति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• तेजः: splendour/energy
• तेजः: Karta (Co-subject of अस्ति)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tejas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; शक्तिः इत्यस्य सह समुच्चय

• वा: or
• वा: Samuccaya/ विकल्प (Disjunctive particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: vā (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (option/disjunction particle)

• क्षत्रियस्य: of the Kshatriya
• क्षत्रियस्य: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣatriya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• कुलाधमः: the lowest of the clan
• कुलाधमः: Sambodhana (Addressed person)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुलाधम (प्रातिपदिक: कुल + अधम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; सम्बोधनार्थे अपि (used as vocative sense though form nominative)

• धेनुम्: the cow
• धेनुम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhenu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• नयतु: let him lead/bring
• नयतु: Kriya (Command)
• Type: Verb
• Root: nī (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• मे: to me
• मे: Sampradana (Recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी (Genitive/Dative), एकवचन; अत्र चतुर्थी (to me) अधिकम्

• सद्यः: immediately
• सद्यः: Kriya-visheshana (Temporal adverb)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sadyaḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb of time)

• क्षीणायुः: one whose lifespan is diminished
• क्षीणायुः: Visheshana (Qualifier of implied agent)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षीणायु (प्रातिपदिक: क्षीण + आयुस्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (implied subject: सः)

• सपरिच्छदः: together with his retinue/equipment
• सपरिच्छदः: Visheshana (Qualifier of implied agent)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सपरिच्छद (प्रातिपदिक: स + परिच्छद)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; विशेषण (implied subject: सः)

Speaker

Jamadagni

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā) bank-āśrama tīrtha (contextual)

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Jamadagni points with the staff, issuing a stark proclamation: any kṣatriya who dares seize the cow will lose life, retinue, and wealth—dharma spoken as a weapon.

Characters & Entities

• Jamadagni
• Kṣatriya (generic)
• Dhenu (Kāmadhenū)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Power without dharma becomes self-destructive; harming the sacred order shortens prosperity, strength, and life.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The account belongs to the Revā Khaṇḍa’s Narmadā-region cycle; this verse emphasizes dharma and consequence rather than a named tīrtha.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None directly; the verse reinforces the dharmic prohibition against forcibly taking what is consecrated and protected.