Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 20

Devanagari script

अनृतं साहसं माया मूर्खत्वमति लोभता । अशौचं निर्घृणत्वं च स्त्रीणां दोषाः स्वभावजाः

Transliteration

anṛtaṃ sāhasaṃ māyā mūrkhatvamati lobhatā | aśaucaṃ nirghṛṇatvaṃ ca strīṇāṃ doṣāḥ svabhāvajāḥ

Translation

„Unwahrheit, tollkühne Gewalttat, Trug, Torheit, maßlose Gier, Unreinheit und Mangel an Mitgefühl—dies sind, wie hier verkündet, die von Natur geborenen Fehler, die Frauen zugeschrieben werden.“

Word by Word

• अनृतम्: falsehood
• अनृतम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनृत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• साहसम्: rashness/violence
• साहसम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: साहस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• माया: deceit/illusion
• माया: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• मूर्खत्वम्: foolishness
• मूर्खत्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूर्खत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• अति: excessive
• अति: Prakara (Degree/प्रकार)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अति (अव्यय)
• Form: उपसर्गसदृश-अव्यय; intensifier/adverb ‘excessively’

• लोभता: greediness
• लोभता: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोभता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• अशौचम्: impurity
• अशौचम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अशौच (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

• निर्घृणत्वम्: mercilessness
• निर्घृणत्वम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निर्घृणत्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; Nominative singular

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

• स्त्रीणाम्: of women
• स्त्रीणाम्: Sambandha (Relation/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Genitive plural

• दोषाः: faults
• दोषाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दोष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Nominative plural

• स्वभावजाः: born of nature/innate
• स्वभावजाः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वभाव (प्रातिपदिक) + ज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पञ्चमी/षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषार्थे (स्वभावात्/स्वभावस्य जाताः); पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; Nominative plural masculine agreeing with दोषाः

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta), in narration to the sages (deduced from Māheśvarakhaṇḍa context)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kedāra

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Interlocutor/pilgrim audience (unspecified)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: The woman enumerates vices with calm authority; the Daityas listen, some uneasy, some still enthralled—showing the tension between instruction and desire.

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

It frames a nīti-style warning about specific negative tendencies (untruth, greed, cruelty, etc.), urging the listener toward discernment and dharmic self-restraint.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

This verse occurs within the Kedārakhaṇḍa, whose broader narrative glorifies the Kedāra region (Kedāranātha and associated tīrthas), though this specific line itself is moral instruction rather than direct tīrtha-praise.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None in this shloka; it contains no explicit injunction about snāna, dāna, japa, vrata, or pilgrimage acts.