Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

देवद्विजगवां वृत्तिहारको वांतभक्षकृत् । तडागारामभेत्ता यो भवेद्विकलपाणिकः

Transliteration

devadvijagavāṃ vṛttihārako vāṃtabhakṣakṛt | taḍāgārāmabhettā yo bhavedvikalapāṇikaḥ

Translation

He who deprives the gods, brāhmaṇas, or cows of their livelihood; he who eats vomit; and whoever destroys ponds and gardens, is born with crippled, disabled hands.

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.