Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

देवद्विजगवां वृत्तिहारको वांतभक्षकृत् । तडागारामभेत्ता यो भवेद्विकलपाणिकः

Transliteration

devadvijagavāṃ vṛttihārako vāṃtabhakṣakṛt | taḍāgārāmabhettā yo bhavedvikalapāṇikaḥ

Translation

Wer den Göttern, den Brāhmaṇen oder den Kühen den Lebensunterhalt entzieht, wer Erbrochenes isst und wer Teiche und Gärten zerstört, wird mit verkrüppelten, kraftlosen Händen geboren.

Word by Word

• deva-dvija-gavām: of gods, Brahmins, and cows
• deva-dvija-gavām: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक) + dvija (प्रातिपदिक) + go (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वसमासः (देवाश्च द्विजाश्च गावश्च)

• vṛtti-hārakaḥ: one who takes away livelihood
• vṛtti-hārakaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vṛtti (प्रातिपदिक) + hāraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (वृत्तेः हारकः)

• vāṃta-bhakṣa-kṛt: one who eats vomit
• vāṃta-bhakṣa-kṛt: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vāṃta (कृदन्त/भूतकृदन्त; √vam/वम्) + bhakṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + kṛt (कृदन्त; √kṛ/कृ)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (वांतं भक्षयति इति/वांतभक्षकृत्)

• taḍāga-ārāma-bhettā: a destroyer of tanks and gardens
• taḍāga-ārāma-bhettā: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: taḍāga (प्रातिपदिक) + ārāma (प्रातिपदिक) + bhettṛ (प्रातिपदिक; √bhid/भिद्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समाहार/इतरेतर-द्वन्द्वार्थः (तडागानां च आरामाणां च भेत्ता)

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-सर्वनाम

• bhavet: would become
• bhavet: Kriyā (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• vikala-pāṇikaḥ: one with disabled hands
• vikala-pāṇikaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vikala (प्रातिपदिक) + pāṇika (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्मधारयः (विकलः पाणिः यस्य/विकलपाणिकः)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), narrating to the sages (deduced from Māheśvara-khaṇḍa context)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A temple-town scene: cows and brāhmaṇas near a shrine; a wrongdoer seizing offerings/wages; another defiling himself by eating vomit; vandals breaking a pond embankment and cutting a garden—followed by a rebirth motif showing disabled hands.

Characters & Entities

• deva
• dvija
• go
• taḍāga
• ārāma

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

To protect sacred institutions, caretakers, cattle, and public resources like ponds and gardens; harming them brings disabling karmic outcomes.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No named tīrtha appears; the verse broadly sanctifies water-bodies and groves as dharmic supports of community and pilgrimage.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No explicit ritual; the implied dharma is maintaining taḍāgas (tanks) and ārāmas (groves), akin to tīrtha-sevā and public merit works.