Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 37

Devanagari script

इष्टिकाभस्मपाषाणकपालास्थीनि वर्जयेत् । तोलयित्वा ततः पूर्वं तस्मात्तमवतारयेत्

Transliteration

iṣṭikābhasmapāṣāṇakapālāsthīni varjayet | tolayitvā tataḥ pūrvaṃ tasmāttamavatārayet

Translation

One should avoid using brick, ash, stone, potsherds, and bones as the counterweight. Having first weighed as prescribed, then one should make him step down from the balance.

Word by Word

• iṣṭikābhasmapāṣāṇakapālāsthīni: bricks, ash, stones, potsherds, and bones
• iṣṭikābhasmapāṣāṇakapālāsthīni: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: iṣṭikā (प्रातिपदिक) + bhasma (प्रातिपदिक) + pāṣāṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + kapāla (प्रातिपदिक) + asthi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), बहुवचन (Plural); समाहार-द्वन्द्वः (collective copulative)

• varjayet: should avoid/exclude
• varjayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vṛj (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपदम्

• tolayitvā: having weighed
• tolayitvā: Purvakala (Prior action/पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tul (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभावः

• tataḥ: then/from there
• tataḥ: Sambandha (Sequence/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• pūrvam: before/first
• pūrvam: Sambandha (Temporal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: pūrva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभूत-नपुंसक एकवचन; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• tasmāt: from that (pan/place)
• tasmāt: Apadana (Ablative/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्गे, पञ्चमी (5th/पञ्चमी), एकवचन (Singular)

• tam: him
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, द्वितीया (2nd/द्वितीया), एकवचन (Singular)

• avatārayet: should take down/remove
• avatārayet: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: ava-tṝ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपदम्; णिच्-प्रयोगः (causative sense: cause to descend/remove)

Speaker

Lomaharṣaṇa (Sūta) to the sages (deduced)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Priests gesture in prohibition as attendants remove unsuitable items—brick, ash, stones, potsherds, bones—from near the balance; after weighing, the man steps down while witnesses watch.

Characters & Entities

• tulā (balance)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ritual justice must be pure and uncontaminated; impure or irregular materials compromise dharma.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No specific holy place is mentioned in this verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Use suitable, pure counterweights (not brick/ash/stone/potsherds/bones), complete the weighing, and then have the person descend.