Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 42

Devanagari script

अवध्याश्च स्त्रियः सृष्टा मन्यंते धर्मचिंतकाः । तस्माद्धर्मेण धर्मज्ञ एष वादो मनीषिणाम्

Transliteration

avadhyāśca striyaḥ sṛṣṭā manyaṃte dharmaciṃtakāḥ | tasmāddharmeṇa dharmajña eṣa vādo manīṣiṇām

Translation

Quienes meditan en el dharma sostienen que las mujeres fueron creadas para no ser muertas. Por ello, oh conocedor del dharma, ésta es la postura razonada de los sabios: que el dharma sea seguido conforme al dharma.

Word by Word

• अवध्याः: not to be killed
• अवध्याः: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अवध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Nominative plural ‘not to be slain’

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चयबोधक-निपात (conjunction)

• स्त्रियः: women
• स्त्रियः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Nominative plural ‘women’

• सृष्टाः: were created
• सृष्टाः: Karta (Predicate with passive sense)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सृष्ट (कृदन्त; √सृज् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — Past participle: ‘created’ agreeing with स्त्रियः

• मन्यन्ते: think/consider
• मन्यन्ते: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √मन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन, आत्मनेपद — Present: ‘they think’

• धर्मचिन्तकाः: thinkers on dharma
• धर्मचिन्तकाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म + चिन्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — ‘thinkers of dharma’; समासः: धर्मस्य चिन्तकाः

• तस्मात्: therefore
• तस्मात्: Hetu (Reason)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तस्मात्-इत्यव्ययप्रयोगः (ablatival adverb) — ‘therefore/from that’

• धर्मेण: by dharma/justly
• धर्मेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन — Instrumental singular ‘by/according to dharma’

• धर्मज्ञ: O knower of dharma
• धर्मज्ञ: Sambodhana (Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्मज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन — Vocative; समासः: धर्मं जानाति इति (knower of dharma)

• एषः: this
• एषः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — ‘this’

• वादः: doctrine/argument
• वादः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — Nominative singular ‘statement/doctrine’

• मनीषिणाम्: of the sages/wise
• मनीषिणाम्: Sambandha (Possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनीषिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन — Genitive plural ‘of the wise’

Speaker

Unspecified (petitioners appealing to dharma before the brāhmaṇa)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic moment: one speaker gestures as if citing dharma; the sage listens with composed authority. The atmosphere shifts from emotional pleading to reasoned ethical discourse.

Characters & Entities

• dharma
• manīṣi (the wise)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Dharma is upheld through restraint and lawful compassion; the wise argue for non-violence and principled judgment.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

No tīrtha is mentioned; this is a dharma-argument within the story.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None; it presents a normative ethical claim rather than a rite.